E12: The Fall and Final Judgment (Revelation 18–20)

Babylon falls, Christ reigns, and final judgment comes. This episode walks through these climactic chapters and what they reveal about justice and victory.

Transcript

Michael Berry: When I was eight years old, was in Cub Scouts ⁓ and I hated Cub Scouts. It was the only thing that was fun about it was the Pinewood Derby. ⁓ But even then, the Mormons of my Cub Scout group always won those events. And so even then, it wasn't the most fun that it could be. But one of the things that I remember like it was yesterday was the time that we went on a Cub Scout field trip. And we went to a farm. And ⁓ before we had arrived, the farmer had tied up a goat ⁓ back behind the barn for us to see. It was a younger goat. ⁓ And so he met us out front. We all arrived there and he kind of told us what we would be doing. ⁓ on the farm, know, going and seeing these and we're gonna do some of this and we're gonna see this and ⁓ so he started us off by wanting to show us this goat first and so we go walking around the side of the barn and we turn the corner and there is this goat laying on the ground, tongue out, dead. And I just remember like as like all of us like kind of looked at each other like, ⁓ my gosh, this goat is dead and this farmer's like, ⁓ bruh, bruh, bruh, bruh, bruh, bruh, bruh, bruh, bruh. He had tied this goat to the fence loosely around the neck and clearly it wasn't, ⁓ the goat didn't just stand there, but it had thrashed around ⁓ and the noose essentially is what it became, tightened. and the goat had hung itself. And that picture is what God is doing with evil in our world right now. know, the dragon is on a leash. Jesus accomplished that on the cross, remember Revelation 12, and when it thrashes, it throws its weapons on a people ⁓ who, if they follow Jesus, ultimately those weapons hang ⁓ the dragon. And what strikes me is God's allowance of evil in this world to achieve his purposes. I think I made it abundantly clear last week, but it does bear repeating, God does not cause evil in our lives, but he does allow it. And the purpose of all the calamities in Revelation are meant to bring people to recognize the love of God and the love he has for us in a broken world. And it is the contrast of evil that shows us the goodness of God. So evil has allowed its leash, but as it thrashes, it hangs itself. And so granted, there are those in this world who will never see evil for what it is, and they'll blame God for all the evil in this world and thereby reject him and search for a power they can trust in. And of course, those people, Revelation would say, they take the mark of the beast. But those who see evil for what it truly is take on the name of the Lamb of God when they put on the robe that is soaked in His blood. So that is how Revelation is capturing the reality of our world. And if I'm honest, what keeps me up at night sometimes are the pictures of my past when I had the name of the beast on my forehead and I sat on that beast and when I gave my power to the beast to be used for evil. And in those moments, like I'm sure all of us have in our lives, those moments, I cling to verses like 1 Corinthians 15, 9 and 10 when Paul is reflecting on his former life. that has now been claimed by grace. This is where the blood of the lamb is shown in its fullness. He says, for I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle because I persecuted the Church of God. But by the grace of God, I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain. I cling to that and I invite you to cling to that because grace is the very water in which we swim in our world and in our lives. It moves us from the side of the beast to the side of the lamb. And it is what we need every step of the way, every single day. It's not just the diving board that gets us into the pool. It's the very water in which we swim. And so with that reflection, We're going to turn to chapter 18 where we'll see the danger and the allure of Babylon. Okay, so like I mentioned, chapter 17 really should go with chapter 18 a little bit more, and chapter 18 and 19 and 20. But just for breaking this up the way I needed and wanted to break it up, we did 17 in the last section, and we'll jump into 18 here. You know, when we don't have God, we really search for a higher power that we can trust in. ⁓ And I think that's obvious in our world today. ⁓ And so we lend ourselves to ideologies or political parties. We lend ourselves to ⁓ power in our cities and in our churches sometimes can even ⁓ lend itself to this. We just search for power, something that we can trust in. And that is why Babylon is so dangerous, because it looks really beautiful and powerful from far away. Remember, John marveled at her. But when you get closer, and the longer you spend with her, you will see her for who she truly is. And eventually, the beast will turn on her and devour her, just like we saw in chapter 17. In Revelation, of course, Babylon was Rome. For Paul, it was the highest ranks of Judaism, perhaps. Or for us, it might be political power or position at work or money or comfort. Whatever power looks like, it drinks a cup of blasphemy, abomination, and emptiness. And so let's jump in. And honestly, I'm really tempted to brush through this because Revelation 19 and 20 are so exciting. But But I think this might be, chapter 18, one of the more applicable chapters for the American church. Not because we've necessarily succumbed to the seductions of Babylon, but because the church needs to be wise in the evil underpinnings of the prostitute, which are so seductive. So with that, let's jump in to verse 1. having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory. And he called out with a mighty voice, Fallen, fallen is Babylon the Great. She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast. For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of earth have committed immorality with her and the merchants of earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living. So we see from these first three verses nations and people have gotten into bed with her because that's what people do with prostitutes and they do it ⁓ and the last part of verse three really kind of illuminates why and how ⁓ this word luxury. The end of verse 3 says, have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living. That is the Greek word, streinos, which is a really unique word in Greek and is only used here in chapter 18 of the Bible. And John has specifically chosen this word. It's a very, very specific word. that he wanted to use to bring out what he's talking about. This isn't just wealth. This is a self-indulgent way of life that is produced by unchecked power. See what that is? The merchants of Earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living. Like I said, it's not simply wealth. It is so much unnecessary abundance that one grows essentially too big for their britches. ⁓ Aristotle used it, ⁓ this word, strainos, to describe a prosperity that produces a lack of self-control. ⁓ And this lack of self-control weakens virtue and courage. It was often used outside of biblical literature. Of course, this is the only place ⁓ in biblical literature it's used, but it's often used outside of the Bible in medicinal contexts ⁓ to portray. swelling or bloated past health. And so what Jesus is doing here is bringing the idea of a society that is overindulgent to the point where it creates laziness, lack of self-control, and a moral corruption essentially. So that's this idea of luxury. This is the first time we see it. In chapter 18, we'll see it two other times. Verse 4. Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, Come out of her, people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues, for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. So this is the most important part of chapter 18, the ⁓ call of God to come out of her. Do not be seduced by her. Do not be pulled in by her beauty and her what appears to be power. So come out of her, my people. Verse six, pay her back as she herself has paid back others. This is kind of the prayer to God. And repay her double for her deeds. Mix a double portion for her in the cup she mixed. As she glorified herself and lived in, this is the second time it's mentioned, luxury, so give her a like measure of torment and mourning, since in her heart she says, I sit as queen. I am no widow, and mourning I shall never see. For this reason her plagues will come in a single day, death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire, for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her. And so this is the second time we see luxury mentioned and the luxury ⁓ it leads her to a declaration that I am queen and that morning I shall never see. So you're seeing this. It's this luxury that puffs up that like I said makes one too big for their britches. Okay, so while verses one through eight show us her attitude, verses 9 and on shows us the response of the people who have turned to Babylon for comfort. And this is going to be the third time we'll see this ⁓ luxury play out. Verse 9, and the kings of earth who have committed sexual immorality and lived in luxury with her will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning. They will stand far off in fear and torment and say, alas, alas, you great city, you mighty city Babylon, for in a single hour your judgment has come. Notice how quick that happens. A single hour. Verse 11, and the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore. Cargo of gold and silver and jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented woods and all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze and iron and marble, cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, oil, fine flour, wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots. All of these are items of luxury in the first century. They're from all over parts of the globe, from India, China, Africa, Arabia, all over. And they were, they had become part of the Roman economy. especially for the elite. ⁓ One kind of side note, there are 28 items mentioned. ⁓ If you take seven, which signifies completeness, you multiply that by four, which is human or created that which was created. That's what four signifies. Seven times four, you're getting this idea of human completion in 28 items. And so the systems that they could literally bank on have imploded. So this is like a ⁓ stock market crash. But verse 13 is the kicker, the end of verse 13. It says, the very last of the 28 items is slaves. That is human souls. Everything ran off of this. everything ran off of slavery, off of human souls. It was the gasoline or the electricity of the ancient world. And it was the dark thread that ran through everything. Babylon here is depicted as being built on these souls, built on human souls. That is the whole reason Babylon exists, right? Because the whole reason Babylon exists is the sole purpose of the first beast and the second beast. And the whole purpose of the first and second beast goes back to the dragon. So the system is rotten. And don't forget what God says, come out of her, my people. He is the one who delivers slaves out of slavery. Babylon is impressive, but remember where she sits and remember who the beast serves. And we have to remember the true enemy. And that is so hard to do when living in luxury, when living in this abundance that thinks you're too big to fall because everything seems harmless. It seems like the war has ceased and forgotten are those at the bottom, the down and out, those who struggle just to be trampled. Verse 14, the fruit for which your soul longed has gone from you. In all your delicacies and all your splendors are lost to you, never to be found again. The merchants of those wares who gained wealth from her will stand far off in fear of torment, weeping and mourning aloud, alas, alas, for the great city that was clothed in fine linen, in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, with jewels and with pearls, for in a single hour all this wealth has been laid waste. But don't get confused. This is not just the kings and the merchants, the wealthy who prospered. It is everyone. It's everyone in the system because verse 16 says, it's the great city that was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet adorned with gold. So it is everyone who has put their hope in this power of this luxurious living. Going on in verse 17. and all shipmasters and seafaring men, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea stood far off and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning. What city was like the great city? And they threw dust on their heads as they wept and they mourned crying out, alas for the great city where all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth. For in a single hour they keep being astonished at how quickly her fall is, for in a single hour she has been laid waste. Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her." All this is for the people of God as his judgment is against her, and it will come very swift. Verse 21. Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, So will Babylon, the great city, be thrown down with violence, and will be found no more. And the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters, will be heard in you no more. And a craftsman of any craft will be found in you no more. And the sound of the mill will be heard in you no more. light of a lamp will shine in you no more, and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will be heard in you no more." So see what's happening. The bridegroom and the bride, those two images that we're about to get into in 19 ⁓ of Jesus and his church, their voice will no longer be heard in this city. For your merchants were the great ones of the earth, and all nations were deceived by your sorcery. and in her was found the blood of prophets and of saints and of all who've been slain on the earth. So we're getting to the final act of judgment against Babylon and we're seeing that the bridegroom and bride, their voice will no longer be heard. And so we're here at the end, right? At the end of time where God is going to judge. And so... Babylon is founded upon violence and is drenched in the blood not only of martyrs, but of people in general and especially the saints of God. And you can hear the horsemen riding, can't you? Conquest, war, economic imbalance, death, Babylon will fall. Right now, yes, Rome will fall, but another will rise up in its place. Remember, that's from chapter 17. All the Babylonians before and after it will come and go, but eventually the whole system will come tumbling down at the end. It will be swift and there will be no salvation from Babylon. that's the word to the church. Don't get sucked in. It would be fair to say that most likely those listening ⁓ to this and myself, most likely we live fairly comfortable physical lives. I have a garage for my car, an office room in my house. ⁓ We just had to put in some ⁓ new carpet and so I've got comfy carpet for my tootsies. ⁓ And if I'm hungry, I buy food. If I'm thirsty, I get something to drink. You know every time I do the laundry I vow that I need to get rid of clothes. I have too many These are are the basics of life for a lot of us and in and of themselves Those objects those things aren't evil but they are part of our economy and you'd be hard-pressed to buy a new house without a garage They're kind of the basics. However, if we are true to what Revelation is teaching us We have to recognize two things. Putting our faith and trust in the system which allows us to live comfortably is foolishness. I mean, you saw how quickly it can all evaporate. It happens overnight in Revelation 18, and we know it can happen overnight to us. I work in land development right now, and anyone I meet who has been doing this type of work for 20 years or more still brings up one year that is seared into their very bones. 2008. Everything evaporated overnight. ⁓ A $50,000 lot was all of a sudden worth $10,000. $20 million worth of equipment devalued to $10 million overnight. So do not be sucked in by the allure of Babylon because it will fail you. So that's the first thing Revelation is teaching us. The second thing is in an imperfect human system, exploitation of human souls is the dark thread woven throughout. It would be foolish of us to believe that our economy isn't built in the same way. So does it matter that a company pays farmers in Indonesia a living wage for their coffee beans? I think it should matter to us. For the cheapo depos listening who are like me, that shirt that's $15. You know that shirt may come with some exploitative baggage over the shirt that's maybe $60. So would I rather my $15 go to a company that exploits slave labor or my $60 to go to one that's free of it? Maybe a more sinister example would be pornography. Maybe pornography isn't just a naked person on a screen, but part of an industry that gives rocket fuel to sex trafficking, exploiting the most vulnerable in our world. What we see in Babylon isn't always what meets the eye. And what we see in our world isn't always what meets the eye. The invitation is to pull off the scales and see Babylon for what she truly is, a harvester of souls. I probably opened up a can there that ⁓ I could probably spend some more time on, ⁓ but we're going to continue to move on into chapter 19. But that is the fall of Babylon. That is the thread throughout. her power and her allure. But chapter 19, ⁓ the title at the top is, for my Bible, it says, Rejoicing in Heaven. And that's what we're going to see. We're going to see ⁓ a celebration that Babylon has been ⁓ defeated. Chapter 19, verse 1. After this, I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven crying out, Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are true and just, for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality and has avenged on her the blood of his servants. Once more they cried out, Hallelujah! The smoke from her goes up forever and ever." So we have the scene and the great multitude, which is the church. are celebrating, they're praising God for all of this. And the church, we're gonna see the elders, we're gonna see creation, praising God for his true and just judgments at the end. But here we see that the smoke goes up from her forever and ever. And so this is showing the finality of the current Babylon and the current earth. And none will say, but you shouldn't have done that. No, at the end when Babylon is disrobed, Everyone will see truth and will not question his judgment and authority. And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God, who was seated on the throne, saying, Amen, hallelujah. And from the throne came a voice, saying, Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great. Now verse six introduces a change. It introduces the marriage supper of the lamb with his bride and the church. And so we have a celebration of the great multitude. We're going to see the great multitude again here in verse 6. says, Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters, and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder crying out, Hallelujah, for the Lord our God, the Almighty reigns. And let us rejoice and exalt and give Him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come. and his bride has made herself ready. How? It was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure, for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. And so the bride makes herself ready by the work that she is doing. She's already the bride, but she makes herself ⁓ righteous. by the work that she is doing. And so the climax of the end of the world is not God's judgments, which we've seen, his judgment on Babylon, but the marriage of the people of God with the Lamb. Now there are two events where I will always cry. Funerals and weddings. I don't have to know the people who are getting married or buried. ⁓ I just... If I'm there, I'm gonna cry. I cry at funerals because death is not what we were supposed to be destined for and it just reminds me of the fallenness of our situation. But for weddings, what makes me cry there is that a wedding is a promise. It's a promise to take the good with the bad, the joys with the pain, the physical, spiritual, and emotional intimacy between two parties. And so this marriage of the lamb with his church is that great imagery on a cosmic scale. And Jesus has intimately served and loved his bride. He has provided for her. He has saved her from the world. And these are those who have remained faithful even through the luxuries and sexual immorality of Babylon. even through the torment of the trumpets, even through the riding of the horsemen. Here are these two coming together in one last scene of the promise of living together for eternity. And this picture is so magnificent that John falls down to worship the angel speaking to him, and it is pretty immediately reprimanded. And that brings us to verse 11, where we have dealt with Babylon. She is destroyed. She has been judged. But don't forget, Babylon isn't the true enemy. We still have to deal with who she was riding on, who gave her her power. And that's where verse 11 begins. Then I saw heaven open, and behold, a white horse, the one sitting on it, is called Faithful and True. And in righteousness he judges. and makes war. So this white horse, as we saw in the seals, represents a color of conquest. But that color is the only thing the horseman in chapter six shares with this rider. And so we're going to see that this rider, we don't know who it is yet, but his identity will be revealed over the next few verses. His eyes are like a flame of fire. That points us to chapter one where we see who? Jesus, of course. And on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe, dipped in blood. That's going back in Revelation before, connecting this to Jesus. And the name by which he is called is the Word of God. And there he is. ⁓ there we are. We're solidified. This is Jesus. ⁓ And the armies of heaven arrayed in fine linen. So we shift. Now it has described Jesus. It's going to shift and describe the armies in which he leads. The armies of heaven arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. What does that say about his followers? Just like their king. They are conquerors as well. And from his mouth comes a sharp sword, once again going back to chapter one, with which to strike down the nations. And he will rule them with a rod of iron. That's going back to chapter 12. And he will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty on his robe and on his thigh. He has a name written King of Kings and Lord of Lords. We know who actually has the power. And so this is the first picture of the second coming of Christ in Revelation. Verse 17, then I saw an angel standing in the sun and with a loud voice he called out to the birds that fly directly overhead, come gather for the great supper of God to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and their riders and the flesh of all men free and slave, both small and great. And I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against him who was sitting on the horse and against his army. And the beast was captured and with it the false prophet who in its presence had done the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped its image. These were thrown into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse. And all the birds were gorged with their flesh." So in verse 18, we have that the victory is already proclaimed. The beast comes back on the stage and he has with him the false prophet and all the kings of the earth who he has wooed. We saw that back in chapter 16. So this tells us that This is a recapitulation. And so all, both the first beast and the second beast, the false prophet, are here both thrown into the lake of fire. And you you hit the easy button there. That was really easy. ⁓ And all who are with the beast are slain by the sword. So that sword that comes out of his mouth is the dividing line. based on what side you stand on. That is his gospel message. So that wraps up, and it was done like I said, really easily, that wraps up the work of the beast and the false prophet. Now we get into chapter 20, and Jesus has been building up towards this for the last seven chapters when he introduced the dragon in chapter 12. Since then, we've seen the rise of the beast and the false prophet, the rise and fall of Babylon, then we've seen the fall of the beast and the false prophet, and now we're dealing with the dragon, the last one left. And so we fought through all the little bosses, right? Now it's time for Leonardo to take care of the big boss, Shredder. Yet, we anticipate this to be as quick a dismissal as the beast and the false prophet, or a quick dismissal as the Babylon the prostitute. However, what we're met with in the first three verses of chapter 20 is a thousand year delay. We're going to see that Satan is bound for a thousand years and then he has dealt with after that. That is an intermission. Where have we seen that before? The seals, the trumpets and the bowls. And this is another intermission in the same line of thinking. So what happened in the other intermissions, mainly the seals and the trumpets? In the seals we saw the people of God being identified and sealed by the blood. In the trumpets we saw the witnesses, the church, are killed and then raised. In both we are given a picture of the people of God in their tribulation. Hmm. Then we read verse 1 and we see the key to the bottomless pit. Verse 1 says, then I saw an angel coming down from heaven holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit. Have we seen that before? Oh yeah, the fifth trumpet. What might be happening? That R word again, recapitulation. So I think this is really important as we get into chapter 20 because these first seven verses have a ton of opposing viewpoints around them, mainly what the 1,000 years even mean. But. If we function like we have for the first 19 chapters of Revelation, we can work our way through this and honor what Jesus is trying to show us. But I want to explain the lay of the land at this point before I jump into these verses, because there are three predominant views over this ⁓ thousand years or the millennium is what it's oftentimes referred to. Three prominent views. And so I'll march through each of these. The first one is premillennialism. And this is the belief that Christ returns before a literal 1000 year reign. That comes from chapter 19, the rider on the white horse comes back. And so this millennium is seen as a time of peace and justice on earth under his direct rule because the devil is locked away and in a chain in a bottomless pit. Okay. And so there's two main types of premillennialism. There's historic where the church goes through the tribulation ⁓ and then Christ comes on the scene and ushers in the millennium. And then there's the dispensational premillennialist crowd, which is the pre-tribulation rapture, which we've gone over quite a few times here. So that's the first predominant view. Second predominant view is post-millennialism. And this is that the gospel gradually transforms the world and it leads to a long era of peace and righteousness, which is the thousand years, the millennium. So Christ then returns after this golden age. And so the millennium may or may not be exactly 1,000 literal years. But the post-millennial crowd sees this as a recapitulation as well because they don't see the rider on the white horse being here on earth at the start of chapter 20. Then there is the Amillennialist crowd. And this is the crowd that says the Millennium is symbolic for Christ's present reign from heaven between His first and His second coming. And in this view, Satan is bound in a sense that he cannot stop the spread of the gospel or the church. And so there is no future earthly reign ⁓ in the sense of Christ reigning and then Satan being released again. ⁓ It's that Christ returns once to judge and renew all things. So that's the lay of the land. And of course, we don't have time to dive into each of these. So I'm going to teach the one that I believe is most accurate to the book of Revelation. As I mentioned in the first session with the four interpretations of Revelation, there are honest Bible believing Jesus following Christians within each of these camps. This is admittedly a hard passage and there are people on every side who are trying their best to understand it accurately. ⁓ So. With that being said, you might have guessed I land in the Amillennial Camp, and I'll show you why as we get into these verses. Like I mentioned, these are extremely difficult verses, and they jump back and forth from heaven to earth and back and forth again. So here is an overview as we start out of verses 1 through 15. Well, that's the entire chapter. There's only 15 verses in chapter 20. In verses 1 through 3, we're going to be on earth. And it's going to be a picture of our current reality on earth where Satan has been bound. Then in verses four through six, we're going to go up to heaven where the current reality of saints souls are there with Jesus. And that's going to be the first resurrection. ⁓ Then verses seven through 10, we're going to transition back to earth again where Satan is going to be released and he's going to gather an army to be ultimately defeated. Then verses 11 through 15 take us back to heaven again where all bodies are resurrected and judged and this is the second death. So it can be confusing but going back and forth from heaven to earth is not out of the ordinary for Revelation. We jump from one to the other quite a bit. ⁓ Here it just happens in more rapid succession. So let's jump in. ⁓ Verse 1, I've already read a part of this, but it says, I saw an angel coming down from heaven. So ⁓ where is John? John is on earth. The angel is coming down to heaven. And in his hand, the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. And he sees the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan. bound him for a thousand years and threw him into the pit and shut it and sealed it over him So that he might not deceive the nations any longer until the thousand years were ended After that he must be released for a little while so the fact that the angel has a key the fact that he's coming to seal of bottomless pit and a chain shows that we're going to be entering into a very symbolic section. And so the big argument against the millennial point of view is that if you look at our current world, Satan cannot be bound. I mean, look at all the evil that is going on in the world. How can you say that Satan is bound right now? So I'm going to push back against that. When is the first time we saw a key in Revelation? You have to go all the way back to the first vision of Jesus in chapter one. He is holding a key. How did he get it? He got that key by his death and his resurrection. That's what it says. We see the key show back up in chapter nine. and it shows back up to unlock the bottomless pit. And then here in Revelation 20, it shows back up to lock the bottomless pit. And so it's locking, it is a key to death and Hades and to the bottomless pit. So that's the first side of this. It also leans into or leads into this idea of a great chain. ⁓ But the Greek word for that, for chain, is manacles. It's the idea of handcuffs. And so the angel is going to handcuff the devil. And then it goes in, it says that he seized the dragon and he bound him for a thousand years. This idea of seizing and binding, it's the idea of being constrained. restricted. It's actually the same exact word that is used in Mark 3, 27 and Matthew 12, 29. In these texts, Jesus has cast out a demon who made a man mute and blind, and he says this. He says no one can enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods unless he binds the strong man. Luke 11 tells it a slightly different way. He says, a strong man guards his own place, his goods are safe until the one who is stronger than him attacks and, interesting word, overcomes him, then he can plunder his goods. So in these parables that Jesus is showing with this same word, seized and bind, He is showing that Satan is the strong man who is bound by someone greater, himself. And Jesus himself is plundering the strong man's house of what? Of souls. So how is Satan being bound in the context of these stories? He's being bound by Jesus casting out demons. And so here's the point. Jesus himself defines what it looks like to bind Satan. In fact, multiple other places in the New Testament define this idea for us. John 12, 31 says, now is the judgment of this world. Now will the ruler of this world be cast out? What's the context? During the last week of Jesus' life while telling people about Jesus' death on the cross. So we're linking the ruler of this world being cast out with Jesus' death on the cross. John 16 verse 11 says, judgment because the ruler of this world stands condemned. What's the context? Jesus leaving earth and the spirit coming in its place. So we have these two ideas of the ruler of the world being condemned and the ruler of this world being cast out. And it's in the context of Jesus' death, His resurrection, and His ascension. Then Colossians 2 verse 15 says, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This God set aside, nailing it to the cross. God disarmed the rulers and the authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them in Him, in Jesus. What's the context? The cross. 1 John 3, 8 says, And then we get into what we've already touched on, Mark 3, 27, Matthew 12, 29, and Luke 11 18 we've already went over this that's the strong man being plundered and so here's what I'm saying with all of this it would seem that the New Testament and Jesus sees the binding of Satan taking place during the ministry of Jesus as he casts out demons as he goes to the cross as he resurrects from the grave and ascends into heaven or you could say all of that together his first coming the last one that I want to point out is Luke 10. And this one, ⁓ Jesus is sending out his disciples to preach. So he sent them out two by two, they return and tell him that even the demons are subject to them in his name. And what is his response? In Luke 10, 18, he says, I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy. When was the last time we saw the dragon? Chapter 12. What was happening? Well, he tried to destroy the baby born from the woman, Jesus, and he failed. Then he tried to defeat Michael in heaven and he failed and was cast out of heaven. That is the same event from the earthly perspective and the heavenly perspective. Well, that sounds like Luke 10, doesn't it? So with all of this in place, here's what I'm trying to say. We need to let the New Testament and Jesus define what the binding of Satan looks like and when it started. It doesn't mean he is eradicated. It doesn't mean that evil is no more. It doesn't mean that he isn't still dangerous. He is bound. A pit bull tied to a tree on a chain is still dangerous if you get close enough to him. You can still hear the bark, right? So Satan is bound at the first coming of Jesus and this 1000 years is a symbol for saying it's a really long time. All of Revelation, we have seen numbers in their significance, not their numerical value. And this 1000 years is following the same pattern. You you think back to the Old Testament, you think of that number of 1000, probably two two moments come to mind predominantly. The psalm that talks about God owning the cattle on a thousand hills, ⁓ or where God is talking about a thousand generations God keeps his covenants. And so it's not as if the cattle on the one thousandth and first hill aren't his possession. Or, you know, after that 1,000 generations, you know, that 1,000 and the first, God's not going to keep His covenants to them. It's a symbol. It means a really long time or a lot. And so Satan's binding will be for a long time. And verse 3, you know, it says that he's not going to be able to deceive the nations. And we automatically kind of download salvation into that verse. But what is he deceiving the nations to do? Well, when this shows back up, or when he shows back up again later on in verse 7, ⁓ he's set free and what he does is he goes out to ⁓ the nations and he brings them together to march against and destroy the people of God. That lines up with what we saw in chapter 12 where the woman representing the people of God was saved from the dragon on eagle's wings. ⁓ this whole idea of Satan not being able to deceive the nations is not a salvation deception, but to deceive the people of the world from going to destroy the people of God. place all these puzzle pieces together. Satan's binding started at Jesus' first coming and mountaintopped at the cross and the resurrection. Satan's binding is for a figurative 1,000 years, meaning a really long time, and his binding stripped him of his power. It stripped him of his freedom in heaven. It restricted him where he won't be able to destroy the church. He'll be released for a little while in the future, but the 1,000 years is now. I hope that is clear. I hope that makes sense to you. ⁓ If not, replay, right? We're going to keep moving here. And remember, verse one through three, we're on earth, a picture of our current reality on earth. Of verse four through six, we're gonna jump back up to heaven. And this is the current reality of the saints' souls in heaven. Verse four. Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those whom the authority to judge was committed. This is my clue, this is my clue that we're in heaven, is the term thrones. Thrones is mentioned 47 times in Revelation. 43 of those times. It is in heaven referring to God or Jesus or one of the saints. Three of those times is referring to the throne of Satan or the beast on earth. And so that is my clue here that we're back in heaven. Of course, this is the 47th time. And so good thrones equal heaven. Evil thrones show up on earth until we get to Revelation 21 and 22. And so, ⁓ we see the thrones seated on them were those who had the authority to judge. Also, I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. So, John sees the souls of the martyrs and the people who don't receive the Mark of the Beast and he sees their souls in heaven and they came to life. Their soul came to life after death to reign with Christ for a thousand years. If the thousand years is right now, then where is Christ? Well, he is in heaven. So the first resurrection and the second death, this terminology is actually fairly easy because they are defined here. And the first resurrection is dead saints' souls in heaven. And so if you want to in your Bible, you could underline or circle, this is the first resurrection, that phrase, and then draw an arrow up to where it says, came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. So that is the first resurrection, that the saints' souls are in heaven. That word soul is the word psuke. It's where we get our word psyche. It's the part of us that makes us us. It's our likes, our dislikes, our personalities, the soul that animates our physical bodies. So our physical bodies, it would seem that when we die, stay here, but our soul raises to the presence of God in heaven without a body. then the second death is defined in verse 13 through 14. We've got to skip ahead a little bit, but ⁓ it says, the sea gave up the dead and all who were in it, death and Hades gave up the dead, all who were in them, that they can be judged, you skip down. Then death and Hades were thrown in the lake of fire, this is the second death, the lake of fire. So, it's simple understandings if... those, if we let those terms speak for themselves. So if you want, you could circle second death and draw an arrow over to ⁓ verse 14 where it says the second death is the lake of fire. So let me summarize. The first resurrection, souls in heaven during the thousand years between Jesus' first appearance and His second coming, the second death is the lake of fire. Judgment in this sentence at the end the judgment at the end of the world Now I hope that's clear probably clear as mud we're gonna march on So verse 1 through 3 we're on earth verse 4 through 6. We're in heaven verse 7 through 10 We're gonna be on earth again, and we're gonna see that Satan is defeated at the end of time So verse 7 and when the thousand years are ended Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for a battle. Their number is like the sand of the sea, and they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. But fire came down from heaven and consumed them, and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. So this section does seem to indicate that there will be a period of extreme persecution against the church just before the second appearance of Jesus. Okay, so Michael, what about the whole Gog and Magog business? Those two terms show up in Ezekiel 38 and 39. Yeah, we're gonna go back to Ezekiel here. But right before they show up in chapter 37, we see that vivid imagery of the Valley of Dry Bones. And of course that is where Ezekiel is taken to this valley that has all of these bones of Israel that have just, that have been dead for a long time and they're dried out. But the Spirit of God comes upon these bones and they begin to rattle and they begin to shake. and they begin to come together and they come back to form ⁓ actual people. And so it's this image of Israel or of people coming back to life. And essentially, ⁓ then they come back to life and Gog and Magog come from the north, gather their armies and come to have battle against this dry bone army, essentially. So, If you take that image and place it here, we have the armies of earth, Gog and Magog, gathering to destroy the people of God on earth who have been brought back to life by the spirit. That is the deception that Satan is going to create when he comes back from the bottomless pit. And so that's the picture here. But before a battle begins, God ends it with fire and gets rid of Satan in finality. at the end of verse 10, have Babylon has been defeated and has been judged. The false prophet and the first beast have been defeated and judged in chapter 19. And here in verse 20, Satan has been defeated and judged. and thrown into the lake of fire. He is done. He is finished. But that leaves the people who followed the beast. And that's where verse 11 through 15 comes into play. And we're going to transition back to heaven. Verse 11. Then I saw a great white throne. That's my key that we're back in heaven. Remember, good thrones are seen in heaven. Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence, earth and sky fled away. and no place was found for them to hide. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. So this is the final judgment which takes place in heaven. And no, this is not teaching because you probably thought, wait, according to what they had done, they were judged. This is not teaching that a believer is saved by his or her own works. That's not what's happening here. The people who are being judged are those who were dead from the war with Gog and Magog. Right? They came against the city of the saints but were killed by the fire from heaven. That just leaves the saints on earth. So here they are brought back to life in heaven and are judged according to their works. So the saints are not part of the first books that were open, but they are written in the second book of life. Did you notice that in verse 12? There were two books, the books were opened and then a third book was opened. ⁓ So this does somewhat portray the idea that there is a record of wrongs that you and I will be judged by at the end unless your name is written in the book of life. And it also seems like the fate of those who are not in the book of life will be judged by what they had done, which may lend itself to the idea that there are going to be varying experiences in hell. So someone like Hitler may have more coming to him than someone who lived a decent life but never put their faith in Jesus. They both end in the same place, and so maybe at the end of that, you know, they're going to have differing experiences, but at the end it's just all all evil all the time absence of good. think regardless it's going to devolve into something just completely ⁓ evil and devoid of anything good. So, let me summarize that whole section. Currently on earth, Satan is defeated and bound. Currently in heaven, the souls of saints who have died are in the presence of God. At the end, when Jesus comes back, Satan will be defeated, maybe after a time of more intense persecution of the church. And then all bodies will be resurrected, souls in heaven reunited with their resurrected body, and all will be judged based on what they had done that was written in the books that are open ⁓ unless one's name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life. So we have covered a ton in this section, but I think what I have laid out here is more cohesive with the rest of scripture. than the other millennial views. ⁓ And I hope it's been illuminating for you. If not, I hope you reach out to me and ask your questions. ⁓ Happy to work through some of that with you. ⁓ But regardless, what we rest in is this. There will be an end to all of this world and all will be made right. That is the promise of God. And that is where the perseverance of our hope calls us to have faith and trust that vengeance is the Lord's, and He will enact His right, perfect, and proper judgment. and all God's people said, amen.