SEVEN FINAL VISIONS (5) | THE ABYSS & ONE THOUSAND YEARS (REVELATION 20:1-10)
1. Revelation
a) John wrote Revelation while a prisoner on the Island of Patmos, approximately 85-95 A.D. Its purpose is to give encouragement and hope for all Christians to continue watching for the return and triumph of the Lord Jesus Christ. It also is to warn of the Final Judgment that nonbelievers will endure on that Last Day.
b) John wrote that Revelation is special because,“Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near” (Revelation 1:3).
c) A brief view of the Book of Revelation. It gives you some basic understanding of the book of Revelation.
2. The Abyss And One Thousand Years
Revelation 20:1-10
1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.
4 Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.
7 When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, 8 and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. 9 And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
3. Bound In The Abyss
Revelation 20:1-3
a) The abyss
i) We are introduced to the abyss in an earlier vision (Revelation 9:1). The abyss is an evil deep, a great and bottomless hole, the domain of Satan, and yet also his dungeon. It represents the powers of darkness. It does not represent eternal hell. In John’s visions eternal hell is seen as a lake of fire distinct from the abyss (Revelation 20:10).
b) One thousand years
i) A particular period of 1000 years, usually called simply "the millennium", is talked about so much by Bible teachers that you would think the Bible mentions it frequently. In fact the Bible mentions that 1000 years in only one passage in the very last book (Revelation 20:1-10).
ii) This 1000 years took place in a vision which John saw, but John did not need to live 1000 years to see it. The 1000 years did not take place in earth time. It took place in God's time so to speak, and "a thousand years in [God's] sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night" (Psalm 90:3-5). We'll find out more about this thousand years as we progress through the rest of this lesson.
c) Satan... bound
i) In this vision, Satan is bound and locked in the Abyss for the entire 1000 years (Revelation 20:1-3). This represents the impotence of Satan compared to the mighty power of Christ. In real life of course, Satan tempts and evil is everywhere. Nevertheless Christians are blessed with a ward against evil and so long as they stay at the throne of Jesus Christ, Satan cannot touch them by his temptations (1 Corinthians 10:12-13).
4. Saints Reign With Christ
Revelation 20:4-6
a) beheaded
i) One does not have to be actually beheaded in order to take part in the first resurrection and thousand year reign. The vision represents a commitment so solid that one stands ready to be killed rather than give up the testimony of Jesus by yielding to Satan. This commitment is taken on in baptism, where one dies with Christ, is buried with him, and is raised to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:3-10). Not every Christian is a martyr in reality, but every Christian must be a martyr at heart.
b) Reigned with Christ
i) In the vision, Christ reigns, and his faithful with him, for the entire 1000 years (Revelation 20:4). Peter declared that Christ commenced his reign when he ascended to heaven (Acts 2:29-36). Paul said, "God rescued us from [Satan's] domain of darkness, and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son" (Colossians 1:13). John, who understood better than anybody the meaning of the visions he saw, knew that he and his fellow Christians were already reigning with Christ (Revelation 1:6). So the thousand year reign in the vision represents the reign of Christ from his resurrection and ascension until his second coming on Judgment day.
c) First resurrection
i) In this vision there were two resurrections. The first resurrection was at the beginning of the 1000 years. It was a resurrection of those who kept the word of God, and these then reigned with Christ (Revelation 20:4-6). This first resurrection represents the new birth which takes place when one obeys the word of God in baptism (John 3:5-6, Romans 6:1-6).
d) Rest of the dead
i) The other resurrection was at the end of the 1000 years. It was a resurrection of "the rest of the dead" —those who had not obeyed the word of God. Those in this second resurrection were subject to the second death, but those who had a part in the first resurrection had no part in the second death, but rather entered into eternal life in the heavenly city (Revelation 20:5-6, 22:14-15).
ii) "But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished" should be regarded as a parenthetical explanation. So the sentence that follows, "This is the first resurrection," should be regarded as referring to the primary statement at the end of verse 4, "And they lived and reigned with Christ for 1000 years". It would have been clearer if the verse break had come before that statement.
5. Battle Of Armageddon
Revelation 20:7-10
a) Mark of the beast
i) The mark or number of the beast represents allegiance to the kingdom of Satan and to the spirit of Antichrist typified by the Roman empire and its idolatry. The number of the beast is 666. In Roman numerals this is DCLXVI —the inferior numerals in descending order: 500+100+50+10+5+1=666. Because 666 can be represented by this significantly ordered Roman numeral set, it identifies the Roman empire as the Beast, and its emperor as the "man".
b) The war
i) In this vision, after the 1000 years were completed, Satan was released. He set about making war (the battle of Armageddon). However this was a war that never happened because although it was planned, and the vast armies gathered for battle, they never got to fire a shot or thrust a sword because fire came down out of heaven and devoured them (Revelation 20:7-9).
c) Lake of fire
i) Satan himself is cast into the lake of fire where already the other two beasts have been thrown. Thus the story of Satan's opposition to Christ may be summed up as follows: Cast out of heaven to earth, locked in the Abyss, thwarted in his battle plans, cast into the lake of fire. What and end for this fool Satan! Is there really any point in your being on the side of this biggest loser in the universe? Surely the Lord's side is the only place to be.
Revelation 20:1-10
1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.
4 Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.
7 When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, 8 and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. 9 And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
3. Bound In The Abyss
Revelation 20:1-3
a) The abyss
i) We are introduced to the abyss in an earlier vision (Revelation 9:1). The abyss is an evil deep, a great and bottomless hole, the domain of Satan, and yet also his dungeon. It represents the powers of darkness. It does not represent eternal hell. In John’s visions eternal hell is seen as a lake of fire distinct from the abyss (Revelation 20:10).
b) One thousand years
i) A particular period of 1000 years, usually called simply "the millennium", is talked about so much by Bible teachers that you would think the Bible mentions it frequently. In fact the Bible mentions that 1000 years in only one passage in the very last book (Revelation 20:1-10).
ii) This 1000 years took place in a vision which John saw, but John did not need to live 1000 years to see it. The 1000 years did not take place in earth time. It took place in God's time so to speak, and "a thousand years in [God's] sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night" (Psalm 90:3-5). We'll find out more about this thousand years as we progress through the rest of this lesson.
c) Satan... bound
i) In this vision, Satan is bound and locked in the Abyss for the entire 1000 years (Revelation 20:1-3). This represents the impotence of Satan compared to the mighty power of Christ. In real life of course, Satan tempts and evil is everywhere. Nevertheless Christians are blessed with a ward against evil and so long as they stay at the throne of Jesus Christ, Satan cannot touch them by his temptations (1 Corinthians 10:12-13).
4. Saints Reign With ChristRevelation 20:4-6
a) beheaded
i) One does not have to be actually beheaded in order to take part in the first resurrection and thousand year reign. The vision represents a commitment so solid that one stands ready to be killed rather than give up the testimony of Jesus by yielding to Satan. This commitment is taken on in baptism, where one dies with Christ, is buried with him, and is raised to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:3-10). Not every Christian is a martyr in reality, but every Christian must be a martyr at heart.
b) Reigned with Christ
i) In the vision, Christ reigns, and his faithful with him, for the entire 1000 years (Revelation 20:4). Peter declared that Christ commenced his reign when he ascended to heaven (Acts 2:29-36). Paul said, "God rescued us from [Satan's] domain of darkness, and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son" (Colossians 1:13). John, who understood better than anybody the meaning of the visions he saw, knew that he and his fellow Christians were already reigning with Christ (Revelation 1:6). So the thousand year reign in the vision represents the reign of Christ from his resurrection and ascension until his second coming on Judgment day.
c) First resurrection
i) In this vision there were two resurrections. The first resurrection was at the beginning of the 1000 years. It was a resurrection of those who kept the word of God, and these then reigned with Christ (Revelation 20:4-6). This first resurrection represents the new birth which takes place when one obeys the word of God in baptism (John 3:5-6, Romans 6:1-6).
d) Rest of the dead
i) The other resurrection was at the end of the 1000 years. It was a resurrection of "the rest of the dead" —those who had not obeyed the word of God. Those in this second resurrection were subject to the second death, but those who had a part in the first resurrection had no part in the second death, but rather entered into eternal life in the heavenly city (Revelation 20:5-6, 22:14-15).
ii) "But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished" should be regarded as a parenthetical explanation. So the sentence that follows, "This is the first resurrection," should be regarded as referring to the primary statement at the end of verse 4, "And they lived and reigned with Christ for 1000 years". It would have been clearer if the verse break had come before that statement.
5. Battle Of ArmageddonRevelation 20:7-10
a) Mark of the beast
i) The mark or number of the beast represents allegiance to the kingdom of Satan and to the spirit of Antichrist typified by the Roman empire and its idolatry. The number of the beast is 666. In Roman numerals this is DCLXVI —the inferior numerals in descending order: 500+100+50+10+5+1=666. Because 666 can be represented by this significantly ordered Roman numeral set, it identifies the Roman empire as the Beast, and its emperor as the "man".
b) The war
i) In this vision, after the 1000 years were completed, Satan was released. He set about making war (the battle of Armageddon). However this was a war that never happened because although it was planned, and the vast armies gathered for battle, they never got to fire a shot or thrust a sword because fire came down out of heaven and devoured them (Revelation 20:7-9).
c) Lake of fire
i) Satan himself is cast into the lake of fire where already the other two beasts have been thrown. Thus the story of Satan's opposition to Christ may be summed up as follows: Cast out of heaven to earth, locked in the Abyss, thwarted in his battle plans, cast into the lake of fire. What and end for this fool Satan! Is there really any point in your being on the side of this biggest loser in the universe? Surely the Lord's side is the only place to be.
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