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If you trust God’s Word and take God’s offer of salvation, then Christ in you will fight against the flesh and its desires to give you victory.
Revelation 20:7-21:8 - 20:7 And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. 9 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, 10 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.
11 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. 12 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. 13 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. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
21:1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
Would you support and fight a war if you knew it would end all wars and produce lasting peace and prosperity? At the turn of the last century, people thought World War I would end all wars. The phrase “the war to end all wars” first appeared in a World War I publication in 1914. Since then, many wars have been fought with the hope of ending all wars, yet many experts believe we are heading towards World War III.
The problem is that as long as Satan reigns in the hearts of wicked men, wars will lead to more wars. People need to know only by allowing Christ to reign in their hearts can they truly end all wars and experience lasting peace and prosperity.
In Revelation 20:7-21:8 after the thousand-year literal reign of Christ on earth, John witnessed the release of Satan and the final war that will indeed end all wars and usher humanity into eternity for lasting peace and prosperity.
The big idea is that as long as Satan reigns in this world, there will be war after war with the hope to end all wars to achieve lasting peace and prosperity, but they all will end in more destruction and death.
So, what is the solution? The solution is in the eternal reign of Christ. However, before that, Christ will take three divine, decisive actions in a final war that will indeed end all wars. Christ will defeat of the devil, destroy death, and damn the deniers in the lake of fire.
Christ Will Defeat the Devil and Throw Him into the Lake of Fire for Eternity (Revelation 20:7-10)
Revelation 20:7 reads, “And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison.” Why would God release him?
There are many views on that including a view that in the millennial Kingdom of Christ on earth, there will still be sin and sinners even without the presence of Satan.
However, based on what we learned last time about the return, rage, and reign of Christ, no unrighteous people would be left before the thousand-year literal reign of Christ begins on earth.
So, why would God release Satan after a thousand years in prison? I think it is for three logical reasons: to test faith, free will, and faithfulness.
First, why test faith? You may have heard this before— the faith that cannot be tested is a faith that cannot be trusted. If God allowed Satan to test Job’s faith and test our faith, why wouldn’t He allow Satan to test the faith of people who would live in peace and prosperity under the righteous reign of Christ for a thousand years on earth before Christ would usher humanity into eternity?
Second, why test free will? To show whether people truly submit to the reign of Christ, they must exercise their free will. If Adam and Eve were given that choice in the Garden of Eden, the people under the reign of Christ for a thousand years should be given the same choice to prove whether they would choose Satan’s reign or Christ’s reign.
Third, why test faithfulness? In the Old Testament, unfaithfulness was God’s main complaint against Israel. In the messianic age, the absence of Satan, the deceiver, it would be hard to say whether they are faithful to Christ or not. The test of their faithfulness necessitates the release of Satan to see whether they will choose sin over salvation and Satan over their Savior.
I base these logical reasons on what happens once Satan is released. Revelation 20:8 tells us, “ and [Satan]will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea.”
Ironically in Genesis 22:17-18, God used the phrase, God when He made a covenant with Abraham, that through him, God will bless nations. The same nations blessed with the Messianic rule of a thousand years would reject Christ’s rule on earth and under the rule of Satan.
Revelation 20:9-10 says, “ 9 And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, these are all the saints of the Old and New Testament who will be resurrected in the first resurrection at the return of Christ to reign with Christ and the beloved city is Jerusalem but the verse says fire came down from heaven and consumed them, 10 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.”
Recently, I was talking to a brother who said that he would rather not have free will if he constantly sins before God. If you feel the same way, I say that is a poor excuse not to fight against sin and temptation. By that logic, every cheating spouse will say if only there were no other men and women. A pedophile will say if only there were no children. An alcoholic will say if only there was no alcohol and list will go on and on.
The application is, quit blaming God for your choices. Our struggles should not be against the precious gift of free will but rather the abuse of it which makes us crave sin and rebel against God.
Christ Will Destroy Death and Throw It into the Lake of Fire for Eternity (Revelation 20:11-14)
Revelation 20:11-14 reads, “11 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. 12 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. Before us is the second resurrection in which all those who were not resurrected at the second coming of Christ to reign with Him will be resurrected and judged. 13 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. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.” So, the lake of fire is the second death where even death will be cast out and destroyed. Satan introduced sin and sin resulted in death. Once Satan, the enemy of our soul, is defeated and thrown into the lake of fire for eternity, death, the result of sin, will be thrown into the lake of fire as well.
In a Harry Potter book, to comfort young Harry, Dumbledore said something really interesting about death. He said, “To a well-organized mind, Death is but the next great adventure.” If you are a believer in Jesus, then, not death, but what comes after death is a great adventure with Christ. But if you are not a believer, then both death and what comes after death is eternal torment.
For an application, listen to the words of Jesus in John 11:25-26, “25 I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he dies, yet shall he live, 26and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die.” So, do not leave today without believing in Jesus and putting your faith in Jesus to receive eternal life. After Christ defeats the devil and destroys death,
Christ Will Damn the Deniers and Throw Them into the Lake of Fire for Eternity (Revelation 20:15-21:8)
The last verse of Revelation 20 says, “15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” In the Bible, there are two types of death— spiritual death and physical death. Everyone who is born into this world is born spiritually dead with a guarantee of physical death one day.
However, by the power of His Word through the agency of the Holy Spirit, God revives us from spiritual death to receive eternal life in Christ. Out of our free will, when we deny Christ’s offer to be our righteousness before God, we choose to face a righteous God on our own merits which can never be good enough to meet God’s standards of good, because the Bible teaches “no one is good not even one.”
This means either we enter into heaven through Christ or not at all. Therefore, all the deniers of God’s plan of salvation through Christ will be damned and thrown into the lake of fire for eternal torment with Satan, the antichrist, the false prophet, all the demons, and death.
Up to this point, John witnessed the process of undoing and uncreation. Next, John witnessed creation in Revelation 21:1 “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more” because the sea represents chaos and in the new creation chaos will be replaced with comfort, calmness, and Christ. Even today, the sea stands for global trade, business, money, and a cause of global wars.
In the new creation, Christ will be our provision and sustenance. Then John testifies in verse 2, “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” God’s future eternal Kingdom is not up there. It is down here on a new earth where verses 3-5 says, “3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” 5 And he who was seated on the throne [that is God the Father] said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” ”
Last week, was my son, Asher’s, birthday. He got many new things and some of them are already broken and thrown away. The “new” in verse 5 is different, better, and lasting. First Corinthians 2:9 and Isaiah 43:16-19 declare this new as, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.” The language of verse 5 suggests that this act of God is already in progress.
So, the question is, how is God making all things new as in completely different, better, and lasting? The answer is, in and through the church which is a community of believers made new in Christ. By the dwelling of the Holy Spirit, we are made a brand-new creation that never existed before. Second Corinthians 5:17 says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”
With that in mind, I want you to see three applications for us in Revelation 21:6-8:
First, trust God’s Word. Revelation 21:5 continues, “Also he [God] said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”” If you are not going to trust God’s word, then who else?
Verse 6 continues, “6 And he said to me, “It is done!”” The Greek here is ginomai which means to come into existence, or it is finished. In God’s mind, all this came to pass when Jesus, in John 19:30, on the cross before taking His last breath said, “It is finished.” Our future already in the past because God says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.” He is outside of time and space.
Second, take God’s Offer. Revelation 21:6 continues, “To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life [that is Christ Himself] without payment.” God is saying “Fool you cannot buy me or your way into heaven. The only payment that I accept is the blood of Christ that covers all your past, present, and future sins.” God’s offer is His Son Jesus. Receive Him and He will receive you. Therefore, verse 7 says, “The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son.”
Third, taste God’s Justice. : If not, then Revelation 21:8 tells us, “But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable…” These are those who did not trust God’s Word, did not take God’s offer of salvation, and did not stand for Christ. The verse says, “as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
As a church, we are coming out of the VBS season. God allowed us to share Christ with about one hundred kids and nine of them made a decision to follow Jesus. Out of their free will, they chose the Savior over Satan and Salvation over Sin.
Our free will is not about us. The reality is that it is about God. He does not want to force us into a relationship that we do not want. So, God will release Satan after the millennial reign of Christ to test faith, free will, and faithfulness. If you cannot stand the test now, you will not stand it then either.
The action step I want you to take is, choose salvation over sin and the Savior over Satan for lasting peace and prosperity.
My appeal to you is to trust God’s Word, take God’s offer of salvation, or else be ready to taste God’s justice. This is not limited to the future. Yes, Christ will fight the war that will end all wars. Yes, Christ will defeat the devil, destroy death, and damn the deniers. Yes, Christ will usher humanity into eternity for eternal peace and prosperity.
However, a form of such war is already in progress. It is within— the war between the flesh and the spirit. It was the flesh that chose Satan in the Garden of Eden. It was the flesh that chose Satan in the Garden of Gethsemane. And it will be the flesh after the righteous reign of Christ for a thousand years that will choose Satan again.
The question is, who would you choose? Who would win, your flesh or the spirit in you?
If you trust God’s Word and take God’s offer of salvation, then Christ in you will fight against the flesh and its desires to give you victory.
Study Questions
1. What is the difference between the first resurrection in Revelation 20:6 and the second resurrection in Revelation 20:13?
2. Why would God release Satan after the millennial Kingdom of Christ in Revelation 20:7-8? Consider the three reasons proposed in the corresponding Sunday message. ( See FBCMonline.org/messages )
3. In Revelation 20:14, death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. What does this mean and why would God want us to know that?
Deeper Study Questions
1. How does the promise of the new heaven and new earth in Revelation 21:1 encourage you in your daily life as you deal with pain and suffering?
2. Read Revelation 21:4 carefully in silence and share how it makes you feel. Please focus on your feelings and emotions.
3. How do the promises in Revelation 21:6-7 challenge you to walk with Christ every day despite your current life situation?
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