When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be
released from his prison (Revelation 20:7). Previously, in
verse 3, this release of Satan was anticipated and presented
as a must, a moral necessity in the fulfillment of the plan
and purposes of God for human history. This was followed by
a brief mention of the reign of Christ and the reward of
saints who will reign with Him for the thousand years.
However, nothing of the character and nature of the
thousand-year reign of Christ is given in Revelation 20.
Here in chapter 20 it is assumed that the reader knows and
understands this so that aspect is not covered. Remember
that it is a time of unprecedented peace, prosperity,
justice, righteousness, and holiness-politically,
physically, spiritually and morally. This is due to two
important facts, (1) the removal of Satan and his demon
hosts, and (2) to the presence and perfect reign of the Lord
Jesus Christ as the glorified Son of God in all His perfect
wisdom and power.
“And he will come out to deceive the nations” (Revelation
20:8) declares the immediate purpose for Satan’s release. As
a fallen angel who is confirmed in his rebellion, this
prison term will have no effect on Satan. He will still be
the adversary, the archenemy of God and confirmed in his
rebellion and perversity. Thus, immediately upon release he
will engage in his age-old schemes of deception, disruption,
and war.
“The nations which are in the four corners of the earth”
shows his deceptions will reach out to the entire earth.
The names “Gog and Magog ” are used to describe the nations
though they are used without any explanation; they are
simply introduced as a description of the nations from the
four corners of the earth. Though expositors disagree in
their understanding of Gog and Magog, this is not the same
as Ezekiel 38 and 39. This is evident from several things,
first, the invasion in Ezekiel comes from the north, but
this one comes from all directions. Second, Ezekiel’s battle
seems to occur about the middle of the Tribulation when the
people of Israel are trusting in the treaty with the beast,
but this battle occurs over a thousand years later, after
Christ comes to earth. Third, In Ezekiel, Gog and Magog are
the names given the ruler from the north and his land, a
territory now occupied by Russia, but according to Ezekiel,
these will be decisively wiped out in the Tribulation.
So why use this term here? Because, from its use in the
Ezekiel passage, these names stand symbolically for a
rebellious and war-like people and for the nations in
rebellion against God and His people (Psalm 2) who will be
crushed.
“And they came to the broad plain of the earth and
surrounded the camp of the saints” (Revelation 20:9), seems
to refer to the city of Jerusalem itself which is described
as “the beloved city.” Apparently, Christ permits the army
to assemble and encircle the capital city. No sooner has the
army of Satan been assembled, however, than fire comes down
from God out of heaven, and the besiegers are destroyed,
like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. This shatters
the last vain attempt of Satan to claim a place of
prominence and worship, here also ends the vain idea of man
that if he just had a perfect environment, the world would
be a wonderful place without war and conquest. If man just
had a perfect environment, he would willingly serve others
and the God who created and redeemed him. However, this is
false because it fails to take into account the fallen
nature of man and his desperate need of the redemptive work
of Christ. So even in the perfect situation of the
millennial reign of Christ, countless numbers immediately
respond to the first temptation to rebel. However, they are
destroyed and this brings an end to the rebellion of the
nations and to Satan’s career.
Throughout the history of mankind, but especially in the
last days of apostasy, man in his human viewpoint and
satanic viewpoint has tried to believe that man is basically
good, that within man is a divine spark which only needs
fanning, good opportunities, the perfect environment, the
great society, etc. In other words, take away all the
inequalities, give everyone a fair chance, and we will have
a wonderful world. Today we hear a great deal about
reforming the criminal element, they only went bad because
of a bad environment, which of course cannot change as long
as Satan is around and Jesus Christ is absent. Man has also
believed, especially today, that what we need is a one-world
state with an international police force and that this would
bring world peace and an end of wars. However, as we have
seen in our study of Revelation, this will only pave the way
for the beast and his godless system of tyranny and murder.
God’s purpose with the various economies is to give new
opportunities and tests from every conceivable angle. In the
thousand-year reign of Christ, God gives man his great
society, one which exceeds anything man could ever dream of,
a society and world order with a perfect environment. Then
at the end, he releases Satan, why?
First, to show the frightfully and totally bankrupt
condition of man and that what he needs is not a great
society with all evils removed, but that any effective and
lasting change must come from within through God’s plan of
salvation which regenerates and gives new life and spiritual
capacity. Nothing else can permanently change man. Second,
to substantiate God’s case against Satan, that Satan is the
liar, the slanderer, and the deceiver, and a large degree
the cause of man’s misery. Third, to show that God is
absolutely just in His sentence of Satan to the lake of fire
and that God is perfect holiness and His actions are always
consistent with His character.
“Into the lake of fire” (Revelation 20:10,) the lake of fire
is literal. It is not just a figurative expression for hell
on earth or for separation from God. It is a real, literal
place. It is also everlasting. The Scripture does not teach
that there will one day be a universal salvation of all
humanity after they have suffered a while. This teaches
there will be no annihilation of the wicked. The lake of
fire is not symbolic for annihilation. The word expressly
teaches that hell is a literal place in which there will be
everlasting and constant torment.
