Saturday
Saturday
The Doom of Satan
And the devil … was thrown into the lake of burning sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown.
Revelation 20:10
Revelation 20 divides itself naturally into three paragraphs—the thousand years (vv. 1–6), the final battle (vv. 7–10), and the last judgment (vv. 11–15).
Firstly, the millennium. It is mentioned six times, and each time with a different reference. During it, we are told, the devil will be chained, the nations will be undeceived, and the saints and martyrs will be risen and reigning with Christ. This surely indicates that the millennium is symbolic of the whole present period between the first and second comings of Christ. If it be objected that Satan does not appear to be chained, we respond that this is a problem throughout the New Testament, since everywhere it is affirmed that by his death and resurrection Jesus has disarmed and bound the devil (see, e.g., Mark 3:27). Moreover, John does not say that the devil was bound in relation to everything, but specifically in relation to the nations, which explains the enormous ingathering of converts (see Rev. 7:9).
Secondly, when the thousand-year period is over, John tells us, Satan will be released from his prison for a brief period and will deceive the nations again. That is, the church’s missionary outreach will be opposed and curtailed. Satan will gather hostile peoples together for a last assault against the church. But Christ will forestall the conflict as the rider on the white horse. Then the dragon will be thrown into the lake of fire to meet the two beasts there in a fate with neither intermission nor end.
Thirdly, now that the dragon, the two beasts, and the prostitute have all been destroyed, the time has come for the judgment of individuals before the great white throne. John writes, “The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books” (20:12). Most emphatically he is not saying that sinners are justified by their good works. No, we sinners are justified by God’s grace alone through faith in Christ crucified alone. At the same time we will be judged by our works, for judgment day will be a public occasion, and good works will be the only public and visible evidence that can be produced to attest the authenticity of our faith. “Faith without deeds is dead” (James 2:26). True believers have their names written in the Lamb’s Book of Life (Rev. 13:8; 20:15).
For further reading: Revelation 20:1–15