Revelation Chapter 20 - John Karmelich

1. This lesson is called "Understanding our sinful nature". That's a nice easy topic to summarize. ☺

a) My point is that much of Chapter 20 is designed to teach us about our sinful nature.

b) With that said, I'll summarize Chapter 20, and then I'll come back to this title.

2. Revelation Chapter 20 focuses on the events of specific, one thousand year time frame. Let me summarize some key points of this chapter:

a) This one thousand year period of time is commonly called the "millennium". The word "millennium" comes from the Latin and refers to a 1,000-year time period.

b) In the first 3 verses of Chapter 20, Satan is locked up for a 1,000 years. During this 1,000-year period, Jesus rules the earth with believers. Prior to this millennium, was the seven-year "Great Tribulation". For those of us who believe the Great Tribulation is a literal future event, some people who survive through this period. Christians then rule over Great Tribulation "survivors" leading into this 1,000-year time frame. (Don't worry, I'll explain this some more as we go. ☺)

c) After 1,000 years, Satan is released and there is another big rebellion against God. Like the whole "Babylon thing" in Chapters 18-19, Satan loses badly. He is then thrown into hell forever. Also after this 1,000 year period, all "unsaved" people are sent to hell forever.

d) Chapter 21 will then go on to discuss events after the millennium and judgment process.

3. Understand that one learns very little about life during the millennium from Revelation Chapter 20. Most of what we know about this time frame is scattered through the bible. One estimate is that there are over 400 verses in the bible that talk about this millennium. Here are some key points about the millennium from elsewhere in the bible:

a) It is a time of peace for 1,000 years. (E.g., See Isaiah 9:7, 32:17, Ezekiel 37:26) Jesus rules the world from Jerusalem. God told Mary that Jesus would one day sit on King David's throne, which was in Jerusalem. (Ref.: 1:32). That has never happened yet.

b) Apparently, predator animals like lions will no longer predators. There will be no more danger of wild animal attacks. (See Isaiah 65:25).

c) People will live a long time, like they did before the flood. (See Isaiah 65:20)

d) There is a new temple built for animal sacrifices (See Ezekiel 40-44). The same way the Old Testament pointed forward to Jesus' sacrifice, there are new animal sacrifices that memorialize what Jesus did on the cross.

e) The land of Israel is once again, divided up by the 12 tribes. (See Ezekiel 47-48). Those Jewish people that survive the tribulation get the land of Israel. God tells them what tribe they came from, and the land is theirs.

4. Now it is best to get back to the title of this lesson: "Understanding our sinful nature".

a) The millennium appears to be some sort of "utopia" in terms of living conditions. Despite this utopia, the chapter focuses on judgment and rebellion. In fact, after Satan is released after the 1,000 years, we read of another worldwide rebellion against God, just as "Babylon" in the previous few chapters was some sort of organized worldwide rebellion.

b) The point is the millennium is there to teach us a lesson: Living in a "utopia" world does not alleviate our sin problem. Just because everything is wonderful all around us, we still have our built-in nature to rebel against God and want to do it "our way".

c) How does this apply to our lives today? Think about when you are more likely to sin: When things are going right or wrong? I'll argue that when the world is falling apart, the Christian is more likely to draw closer to God for help. It is when "things are fine" is that we tend to rely upon our own resources and draw away from God.

d) Let me put it this way: When Adam and Eve sinned, were they living in paradise or running for their life from a hungry lion? ☺ The point is humanity is more likely to rebel when things are going well. That is a (not the) lesson of the millennium.

5. Next, know that there is a debate among bible scholars over what is the "millennium".

a) Most Evangelical Christians believe in a literal, future 1,000-year time-period. Yours truly is among that group. That will be my main argument in this lesson.

b) Most Roman Catholics and some Protestant denominations teach "amillenialism".

i) In Latin, when the letter "a" is in front of the word, it becomes a negative. It is like the prefix "non" in English. The word "sense" becomes "nonsense".

ii) The view of amillenialism is there is no literal 1,000-year time period. They take this chapter as word-pictures. The view is that it is the peace of Christ one has when Jesus rules in our hearts. The "iron rod" refers to the struggle we have with sin. These verses are not taken literally, but allegorically.

c) Revelation Chapter 20 mentions the 1,000-year time frame six times. Those of us who believe in a literal millennium like to ask, "How many times does the bible have to say it before one takes it literally?"

d) The amillenialist might respond with Peter's quote of "A day is like 1,000 years to the Lord and 1,000 years is like a day". (2nd Peter 3:8). I agree with this. In heaven, there is no time. To God, 1,000 years is like a day and vice-versa. For those of us on earth a 24-hour day is exactly 24 hours and 1,000 years is exactly 1,000 years. Since the 1,000 years refers to people on earth, I take this verse literally.

e) To me, if "now" is the millennium as amillennialists argue, than I am disappointed. I read the Old Testament passages about the millennium and I don't buy the argument that the "peace of Christ" is solely the millennium.

i) In Revelation 20:2, we'll read that Satan is chained for a 1,000 years. The classic joke is "If this is the millennium, than Satan's chain is too long."

f) Know that this is not a salvation issue. For those of you who believe the 1,000 years is not literal, you are still saved and have every right to be wrong. ☺

6. Unto the important question: Why is there a millennium? Why can't the good guys just live happily ever after in heaven and the bad guys live unhappily ever after in hell? ☺

a) One can look at all of human history as a big "test" by God on human affairs. The single question is, "Can man do good without God's help?" I'm not talking about individual acts of kindness, but a utopia society where people don't sin.

b) From the Tower of Babel story in Genesis to the Babylon story in Revelation is describing man's first and last attempt to make a perfect society without God. Throughout history, kings, dictators and emperors have promised peace and prosperity as long as the line forms behind that king. It has never worked. Even if there is utopia, sin will still exist.

c) Man can argue to God, "It's not fair you are condemning us. Satan is running around the place, tempting us with all sorts of things. If we could just have a time frame without demonic influence, I'm sure we can then be perfect." Thus, the millennium is that test.

d) A good illustration on this came from a cartoon in Christianity Today Magazine. There is a picture of Satan sitting on a porch step. He is sitting there sulking. He is saying, "It's not fair. People blame me for everything". (Story source: Chuck Missler).

i) This gets back to the lesson theme: The millennium is to show mankind that even without Satan's influence, we still have the "built-in sinful nature ". Man may bow down to Jesus by force, but some people's hearts will still not be in it.

ii) Revelation teaches that Jesus will rule "with a rod of iron". If people are all happy and joyous Jesus is in charge, that "rod of iron" isn't necessary. The point is even though this 1,000-year period is a utopia of sorts, harsh rule is still necessary.

e) Another purpose of the millennium is for God to finish "judging" people.

i) Since all people must go through judgment, there has to be a judgment of people who survived through the Great Tribulation. Apparently, how one "acted" during this previous Great Tribulation period is the basis for judgment to get to live through the millennium. We'll talk more about this as the lesson progresses.

7. OK, time for favorite question: "Why should I care?" ☺

a) Understand that the millennium is not eternity. This happens before "eternity" begins. It is God's time to show that even without Satan's influence judgment is necessary.

b) The point for Christians is to understand that we can't blame the devil for everything. A big part of our ability to sin is due to our own sinful nature.

c) Understand that that the millennium is about God fulfilling His unconditional promises. God made such promises to the Israelites that are not fulfilled until this millennium begins. The Israelites get to inherit the Promised Land. Jesus rules from this land.

d) When the world is falling apart, the key to remember is that this life, as we know it, is not forever. Just as God brought life to a start, God is going to bring it to an end. There is a hope for the future of mankind. It is not through any political effort by mankind. It is by God Himself coming back to intervene in the affairs of mankind.

8. Chapter 20, Verse 1: And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. ² He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.

a) The key point of Verses 1 and 2 is that an angel seized the devil and put him in the Abyss for a thousand years.

b) The first word is "And". It's a grammatical incorrect way to begin our study. ☺

i) In fact, a bunch of verses in this chapter start with "And". The idea, in my opinion, is to connect all the events of Chapter 20 as one "thought" about the millennium and judgment.

ii) The idea of "And" here in Verse 1 is to connect this with the previous chapter.

iii) Remember that John saw all of this from "somewhere" on earth. Revelation 17:3 said John was somehow transported to the "wilderness".

iv) The previous chapter was about the actual return of Jesus to earth. The point is the events of Chapter 20, the "1,000 year millennium", are tied to Jesus' return.

c) Let's talk about the angel for a moment. Revelation is full of references to "mighty angels". Here, John just says "an angel". You know, the regular everyday variety. ☺ Angels are sent from God to perform specific tasks. This one has the authority to lock up Satan. The point is this angel is not "anything special". The point is it didn't require a super-angel to perform the task of locking up Satan.

i) This is a good opportunity to give a brief discussion of our power over Satan. John wrote, "The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world." (1st^t John 4:4). The power God enables within the Christian is greater than any and all power Satan can have over Christians. Pray enables that power to be used over demonic forces. At the same time, we as Christians cannot say, "By the power of Jesus, I bind Satan so he can't attack anyone in the world". The point is God grants us some power over demonic forces, but not all power.

ii) Does this mean we can prevent horrible things from happening in our lives? No. God allows tragic things in the life of the believer as well as the nonbeliever. At the same time, I'm convinced things can be a lot worse for the believer if we don't pray for strength against the temptation from demonic forces.

iii) All tragedies in our lives are "God filtered" for some purpose (See Romans 8:28). They draw us closer to God He helps us get through such times.

iv) Satan's goal is to get us to turn from God. What we as Christians have the power to do (through prayer) is to have the strength to overcome temptation and the strength to be good witnesses for God despite anything and everything that is happening around us. Satan has no power over our attitude in any situation!

v) Does that mean we can't mourn when we are hurting? Of course not. The point is we can still trust in God to get us through that pain. The point is we can still have our faith that God will ultimately win in the end, despite whatever is happening.

d) Meanwhile, back to the verse. This angel had a "great chain" in order to bind Satan.

i) My view of Satan is that he is not omnipresent, meaning he is not everywhere at once. He is an actual "being", but like other angelic creatures he exists in more than three dimensions and can travel from "Point A to Point B" instantly.

ii) Can Satan be bound with a metal chain like a dog? Possibly. Maybe this is written in a way John could comprehend it. The "how" does not interest me as much as the "why". The real question is "why" is Satan bound this way: To have a thousand year period of time on earth without his influence.

iii) Let me get in one last shot as to why I believe the millennium is a literal future event as opposed to "right now". To use a line I stated in the introduction, "If this is the millennium, then Satan's chain is too long". One can see how Satan still has a strong influence in this world. There is too much evil that exists. Satan may be limited in what he can do to Christians, but he is not limited to his influence on nonbelievers. I'll argue the millennium is a future event is if no other reason, I refuse to believe Satan is currently "chained up".

9. Verse 3: He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.

a) The "He" in Verse 3 is the angel. The "him" is Satan. The point is Satan is thrown into the Abyss (we'll come to that in a minute) and locked up there for exactly 1,000 years. I get the idea there is a padlock on the outside of the entrance with a sign reading, "Do not open until the year three thousand-and-something". ☺

b) Let's talk about what is the "Abyss". This is untranslated (transliterated) word from the Greek meaning "bottomless pit". I believe it is the center of the earth, as there is "no bottom" in the center of the planet. Since I believe Satan exists in more than three dimensions, I'll argue somehow this is possible. Whatever or wherever it is, this "holding tank" is where Satan is bound up for a thousand years.

i) If you recall in the last chapter, the antichrist and his "buddy", the spiritual leader were both cast into "fiery lake of burning sulfur".

ii) In Verse 10 of this chapter, Satan goes the same location after the 1,000 years.

iii) My point is this "Abyss" is not permanent hell, but a "holding tank" for future judgment. Even though we may not understand all the details about each location, the important thing for now is to understand there are two locations.

c) I can't help reading this and thinking, "why just a thousand years? Couldn't you keep that guy locked up a lot longer? ☺ In other words, why did God pick a specific 1,000-year period for a millennial reign? Again, why this length of time?

i) Some scholars suspect it has something to do with God's principal of "six and one". The world was created in six days and God rested on the seventh. There are those who suspect that the humanity exists for six thousand years, and then there is the one thousand year millennium. (The Jewish calendar is currently in the year 5758 when this study is written.) Personally, I point to the Matthew 24:36 that says in effect no one knows the day of Jesus return. Therefore, I don't buy into the theory that Jesus comes back exactly or about the year "6,000".

ii) My personal view is that 1,000 years is a good "benchmark" as a time test to see how mankind does without Satan's influence. It is God's way of telling us, "I (God) can give you (mankind) 1,000 years. During those 1,000 years, there is peace, prosperity and no influence of Satan. Yet, despite that, the moment I (God) let Satan loose, there is rebellion again. (This final rebellion is coming up later in the chapter.) A purpose of the millennium is to show we can still rebel against God even if we live in a perfect environment.

iii) Let's look at this another way: If Adam and Eve's world was so perfect, then why did they choose to rebel against God? The answer is, even if we are given a perfect world to live in under God, we as humans still desire to do it "our way". That is why Adam and Eve chose to rebel. That is also why in this perfect millennial world, people will still disobey God if they are given a chance.

d) OK John, I get the idea that there is a desire to rebel against God in a perfect world. What does that have to do with my life? The point is we can't blame our environment as an excuse for sin. We can't say, "Well if we had more money, we wouldn't sin. Or, if I wasn't suffering so much, I wouldn't sin." Adam and Eve sinned despite the best of conditions. There will be rebellion in the millennium despite the best of conditions.

i) Now we go back to the comment of 1st John 4:4 where it says, "The one (Jesus) who is in you (Christians) is greater than the one (Satan) who is in the world. Temptation cannot be avoided by living in paradise. Temptation can be avoided by praying to be kept from it. (See Matthew 6:13) Temptation can be avoided by praying for God to give us a way out. (See 1st Corinthians 10:13).

ii) I'm not arguing one can be perfect. I'm arguing that sticking close to God through prayer gives us the ability to overcome whatever Satan throws at us.

e) We are now at the end of the "millennium" purpose section. Again, one has to go through the entire bible as to understand life during the millennium. Chapter 20 of Revelation only focuses on the fact that Satan is bound for exactly 1,000 years. The rest of the chapter focuses on the "judgment" aspects during and after this period.

10. Verse 4: I saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image and had not received his mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. ⁵ (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.

a) Remember that in Verses 1-3, John saw Satan being bound. Here in Verse 4, John saw "thrones" being set up and "somebody" was seated in these thrones for judgment. This leads to two big questions: Who is doing the judging and who is being judged?

b) It's probably easier to start with who is being judged. Verse 5 starts with, "The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended." One gets the impression that if you don't resurrected until after this 1,000-year period, it is very bad news. ☺

i) There are various theories on who is being judged in these verses. The problem with Verse 4 is that it uses too many pronouns and not enough nouns. If you read the first sentence of Verse 4, it is all pronouns. In other words, John does not disclose bluntly who is being judged and who is doing the judging.

ii) The consensus evangelical view is that those who are being judged are those who survive the tribulation. Again, if you read all the judgment chapters of Revelation, there is no verse that says, "Everybody dies in the Great Tribulation". One gets the impression some survive through this Tribulation period. These are the ones being judged if they are worthy to live through the millennium or sent to hell.

iii) There is a story in Matthew 25 called the "sheep and goat judgment". People are compared to either sheep or goats. It is not that one animal is better than the other. The point is some are saved and some are sent to hell. In that parable, the point is people are judged based on how they treated Jesus' "brothers". Many suspect that parable refers to this millennial time period. People are judged based on how they treated Christians (or Israelites) during this Great Tribulation.

c) Next, let's talk about who is doing the judging. In order to do that, we have to understand the concept of "resurrection" in terms of time.

i) Jesus told a true story (not a parable) about two people in "hell". One was a man named Lazarus (not the guy raised from the dead). The point of the story is that hell had two sections. A place of torment and a "nice, comforting location" that is called "Abraham's bosom (side)". (Source: Luke 16:19-26).

ii) Jesus is described as the "firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep". (Ref: 1st Cor. 15:20). The idea of "first fruit" is that it is harvest time and the first fruit to be picked from the trees is called the "first fruits". What that means is Jesus was the first of the resurrected souls to go to heaven. This was followed by those who were dead, but saved and were temporary living in this "nice section" as described in Luke 16:19-26. As Christians die on earth, we join the ranks of the "first fruits".

iii) Again, one has to remember that heaven has no time. We on earth are stuck in time. God created time, so God is outside of time. From heaven's perspective, you and I may arrive there at the exact same time, even though we may die years apart, from "earth's" perspective.

d) With all of this said, now I can explain Verse 4 a whole lot better.

i) The idea is Christians reign with Jesus, and judge with Jesus as this millennium. That's why the marriage of Jesus and the church takes place prior to the millennium. That marriage is a symbol of our authority to reign with Jesus.

ii) Among those doing the judging (i.e., " on the thrones") included those who were "beheaded" for Jesus during this great tribulation. Know that the Greek word for "beheaded" refers to any type of execution, and not just that methodology.

iii) The point is those that declare their allegiance to Christ during this Great Tribulation (and suffered for it) get the same privileges as you and I during this millennial judgment period.

iv) There are also some alternative views. Some argue Christians that die before the Great Tribulation are given a special "heavenly status" and the thrones are only for Christians who lived through this period. You can read the verses from that perspective as well. I disagree with this view, and I'll talk more about it later.

e) The point is "the good guys" are doing the judging with Jesus. Those being judged are the ones who survived through the seven year Great Tribulation period. Just because some people survive through the Tribulation does not mean they all get the privilege of living through the millennium. Everybody is accountable to God for their actions.

11. Verse 6: Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.

a) This verse says that whoever is part of this first resurrection is blessed. Such people with be priests of God and Christ and will reign with Jesus for 1,000 years.

b) Before we get into the specifics of this verse, learn the cliché: "Born once, die twice; born twice, die once". That means if one is "born-again", one only has to experience death one time, when our bodies die. If one is never born-again, there are two deaths: The physical death and when one is judged and sent to hell forever. That principal is in this verse.

c) Based on this verse, I'll argue that all Christians are part of this millennial kingdom. We may not fully comprehend how we are part of it, but the fact that the text says whoever is part of this "first" resurrection gets to be part of this 1,000-year millennium.

<