Revelation 19:20

Revelation 19:20

In Revelation 19:20-21 the Bible says, "And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of His mouth; and all the fowls were filled with their flesh." The Book of Revelation reveals to us the person of Jesus Christ. It also reveals to us some important details about the future. The bad things that will happen will be short-lived and will have a definite end. One of the worst things that will ever happen will be the reign of the antichrist. He will come into power and no one will stop him, but only for a short time. Do not fear the antichrist. He will come into power because the Bible says that he will. But he will also be destroyed. This is the patience and the faith of the believers. God is Judge.

Concerning the destruction of the antichrist and the false prophet that will take place at the return of Jesus Christ to the earth, it is an important warning to notice where they are placed for their final destiny. Revelation 19:20 says that they "were cast alive into a lake of fire." There is a place of final torment where some human beings will spend an eternity. There is a heaven, and we will hear some of the most wonderful things about heaven in the rest of the book of Revelation; but there is also a hell. The Bible teaches that there is a hell. Jesus taught that there is a hell. Jesus told the abbreviated life stories of a rich man and a poor man in Luke Chapter 16. Speaking of the rich man, Jesus said in Luke 16:23-24, "And in hell he lifted up his eyes, being in torments, and saw Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame."

There is a hell. Be warned by the Bible, be warned by the teachings of Jesus, and be warned by your own conscience. There is a hell, but thank God there is also a heaven. Evidently God created hell for the devil and his fallen angels. God created humans to be His children: to know Him and to be with Him forever. It was never the intention of Jesus that man should go to hell. But the problem of the human race is the sin problem. It is your sins that have alienated you from God; and if you add to your sins an obstinate determination to remain alienated from Jesus, then you are choosing a destiny of hell. "God is not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance." God has provided a way through Christ so that everyone could be saved. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me."

We have been told about the destiny of the antichrist here at the end of Revelation Chapter 19, and at the beginning of Revelation Chapter 20 we are told some details about the destiny of Satan. Revelation 20:1-3 says, "And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years. And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season." A little later in the Book of Revelation we will be told the final destiny of the devil, but here we are told where the devil will be placed temporarily for a thousand years: the bottomless pit.

We know that when Jesus returns to the earth, He will return as a King to rule the entire earth from the city of Jerusalem and from the throne of David. This will be the one-thousand-year reign of Christ. It will be a wonderful time for the earth, both because Jesus will be King and because the devil will be locked up in the bottomless pit. During the time of the one-thousand-year reign of Christ, the devil will not be causing the problems that he so often does. Human beings are responsible for their own actions, but much of the evil that humans do is stirred up by the devil. If you understand the character of the devil, then you will more accurately understand the spirit of this world. If you understand the character of the devil and the work that he has done in the world, then you will have much understanding of what is really taking place in the world. Some people have a wrong view of the world and what is happening in it, and therefore they have a wrong view of reality.

The character of the devil is revealed to us in Revelation 20:2 by the words that are used in reference to him. He is called the Dragon, the Old Serpent, the Devil, and Satan. Revelation 20:3 says that he deceives the nations. He is called a dragon to emphasize his violent and murderous nature. "He was a murderer from the beginning." If you are wise, you will understand the nature of this world in which we live. This is not a place of peace. It is a place where the innocent are pursued by predators, and the greatest predator of all is the devil. "The devil goes about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour." You should view the world as a dangerous place. If you do not, then you do not understand the one who is in the world because he has not yet been cast into the bottomless pit.

The devil is also called the old serpent. In ancient times a serpent was symbolic of craftiness because of the manner in which serpents capture their prey. Often a serpent will sneak up on an unwary victim. The devil is called a serpent because of the method that he often uses to catch people and ensnare them. Knowing that this is the tactic of the devil, we must be vigilant. Every day we must realize that some great temptation may be put into our path that could destroy us. No wonder that Jesus told us to pray to the Father, "Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." We also must realize that the devil is smarter than we are. He will outwit us unless we ask Jesus for wisdom. Watch out. You have an adversary who is more clever than you are. He is called the old serpent. Thankfully, Jesus is much wiser and much more powerful than the serpent.

He is also called the Devil. The word "devil" means slanderer. He slanders the believers. He will try to slander you before God, before man, and before your own conscience. There are some things that you can do to get the victory over the slanderer. Most importantly you can rely upon the shed blood of Christ. If you have been born again and saved by Jesus, then you are totally and completely forgiven of all your sins. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus." The devil will slander and accuse you, but God will pardon and forgive you. The devil will try to accuse you based upon your past sins, and he will also gladly use more material against you if you give it to him. If you do the right thing more consistently, you will give the slanderer less material to use against you.

Remember that he devil is against you. That is why he is also called Satan. The word "satan" means adversary. The greatest competition that is taking place in the world today is the competition between good and evil. Which side are you on? If you are on the side of good, then you will have adversaries, and your greatest adversary is Satan. It should help to make the battle a little easier and the burdens a little lighter when you already know that you are on the winning side. That is one of the blessings of this part of the Book of Revelation. It tells us about the final doom of that old serpent, the devil. The Christian hymn "A Mighty Fortress is our God" touches this theme. Part of the third verse of the hymn says:

"The prince of darkness grim – We tremble not for him.

His rage we can endure, For lo, his doom is sure.

One little word shall fell him."

It is nice to know that the devil’s doom is sure, but it has not happened yet. He is still doing what he has always done. He is still the tempter. He is still murdering and destroying and motivating humans to help him in his work. He is assisting in the damning of souls. He is lying and deceiving the world. Most of the popular philosophies and life-styles of the world come from the lies and deceptions of the devil. If you have not been set free by the truth that is in Jesus Christ, then in some way you are held by the deceptions of the devil. One of the reasons that the one-thousand-year reign of Christ will be so wonderful is that all of these deceptions will be taken away. It will be the greatest period of enlightenment that the world has ever known. "The knowledge of the Lord shall cover the land as the waters cover the sea."

A few more details concerning the thousand-year reign of Christ are given in Revelation 20:4-6. It says, "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."

We have been told already in the Book of Revelation the fact that believers will share with Jesus in His rule as King and in His judgment when He returns to the earth. We who believe in Jesus are heirs to the world. We have an inheritance that He is going to give to us. Our Father loves us so much that He has prepared for our future to make it secure. Notice that Revelation 20:4 says concerning the believers in Jesus that; "judgment was given unto them." In our judicial system we take citizens and put them on the jury in the trials of the accused. Sometimes this system fails and the interests of the victims get lost in the process. But God will take the victims and make them the judges. Justice will be served in the Kingdom of Christ, and it will not be a happy day for the guilty. It will be a day of victory and triumph for the believers. Paul wrote to the Corinthians and said, "Know you not that you shall judge the world?"

These promises to the believers concerning the Kingdom of Christ to come and the role that believers will have in His Kingdom were especially meant as words of encouragement to those who will suffer during the period of the Great Tribulation. "All who live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." Persecution can take many forms, and it can be painful no matter in what form it comes. If you live for Christ in this world on the one hand you will be respected, but on the other you will be rejected and lied about. Depending upon the generation in which you live, you may be called upon to also suffer in a physical way. It has happened before that believers in Jesus were put to death because of their belief, and it will happen again. It will especially happen during the time of the Great Tribulation because believers will be beheaded.

If you follow Jesus you will have burdens to bear. One of the things that the Bible gives us in reference to our sufferings and our burdens is the fact that we may have to suffer for Christ in this life, but never forget that the sufferings are only temporary. The Kingdom of Christ will be set up, and we will be there, and we will enjoy its blessings. We will reign with Christ for a thousand years, and that will only be the beginning. The rest of the Book of Revelation will tell us some details of what will come after the thousand years when we live with Jesus forever. The infinite God has many plans for eternity and many new ages that we will share with Him.

The first of the new ages to come is the one-thousand-year reign of Christ. The mechanism by which all believers will be there is the resurrection. The Bible does not teach reincarnation. Instead, it teaches resurrection. There will be a resurrection of the dead, and this passage in the Book of Revelation makes it clear that the resurrection from the dead will actually be divided into two resurrections. There will be the resurrection of the saved that will take place at the start of the one thousand-year reign of Christ, and then there will be the resurrection of the unsaved that will take place after the one thousand year reign.

The Bible says in Revelation 20:6, "Blessed and holy is he that has part in the first resurrection." If you are a part of the first resurrection then you are blessed. There are many blessings that come from God, but this will prove to be the greatest blessing of all. You will live this present life for just a few short years, but you will live somewhere else forever. Jesus said, "What shall it profit a man should he gain the whole world, but lose his own soul?" If you understand what is important, then you understand the importance of being part of the first resurrection. The way that God has provided for you to become a part of the resurrection of the saved is through Jesus Christ. Jesus said in John 11:25-26, "I am the resurrection and the life. He that believes in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. And whosoever lives and believes in me shall never die."

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