Satan’s Final Rebellion and the Great White Throne
Satan’s Final Rebellion and the Great White Throne
Revelation 20:7-15
When
the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released (20:7): We haveseen that the bottomless pit
serves as a prison for demonic spirits (Luke 8:31; 2Peter 2:4). The devil and
all demonic spirits will be bound here for the 1000years of Christ’s millennial
kingdom (Revelation 20:1-3). This quarantine will effectively remove a powerful
destructive and deceptive force in all areas of human life and thought during
Christ’s kingdom. At the end of the 1000 years, Satan will be loosed from the
bottomless pit.He will have one last opportunity to deceive the nations. God’s
purpose seems to be to prove once and for all that the heart of every human
being is desperately wicked.
Even
in the best of environments (Christ’s kingdom), the fallen human heart still
has a great propensity to sin.To
deceive the nations…to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of
the sea (20:8): Believers
who survive the tribulation will physically enter into Christ’s millennial
kingdom (Matthew 25:31-46; Ezekiel 20:34-38).Longevity will characterize the
millennial kingdom (see Isaiah 65:20), but both Jews and Gentiles will continue
to age and die. Married couples among both groups will also continue to have
children throughout the millennium. Apparently, some of the children of the
saints (and grandchildren, great grand children, and so forth) will not be
believers. They are nevertheless permitted to live in Christ’s kingdom so long
as they do not rebel. When Satan is released at the end of the millennium, he
will lead many of these unbelievers in a massive rebellion against Christ. This
will represent Satan’s last stand.
Gog and Magog (20:8):
These
terms relate to a military coalition made up of Russia, Iran, Sudan, Turkey,
and a number of other Muslim nations who will attack Israel, either prior to
the tribulation period or at the very beginning of it(see Ezekiel 38–39). God
will destroy these invaders. In this verse, John apparently uses Gog and Magog
as a metaphor for evil invaders, much like we today use Wall Street as a
metaphor for the stock market. In other words, Satan and his human rebels will
launch a Gog-and-Magog-like invasion against Christ and His people. Surrounded the camp of the saints
and the beloved city (20:9): Jerusalem
will be the headquarters of Christ’s government throughout the millennium (Isaiah
2:1-5). This beloved city—with believers camped around and about—will be the
target city of this satanic revolt.
Fire came down from heaven and consumed them (20:9): The revolt is a suicide mission. Christ
quickly and decisively crushes this rebellion. The devil…was thrown into the lake of fire (20:10): All three persons of the satanic
trinity—Satan, the antichrist, and the false prophet—suffer the same dire
destiny. The antichrist and the false prophet had been thrown into the lake of fire
after the tribulation period and before the millennial kingdom (Revelation19:20).
Now Satan joins them. All three will burn for all eternity. Demons toowill be
judged and cast into the lake of fire (see Matthew 25:41).In Day 34 I listed
some of the Bible’s other descriptive names for the lake of fire.
Revelation 20:11-15I saw a great white throne and him
who was seated on it (20:11):
Thrones are mentioned almost 50 times in Revelation (see, for example,
Revelation 4:2-3,9;5:1,7,13; 6:16; 7:10,15). The throne of Revelation 20:11 is
a judgment throne, where Jesus Christ sits as Judge of the wicked dead. In his
vision, John witnessed the earth and sky flee from the presence of the divine
Judge. John saw a universe contaminated by sin and Satan vanish out of
existence. Peter described this in more detail in 2 Peter 3:10-13.The heavens
will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and
dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed…The
heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as
they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens anda new
earth in which righteousness dwells.
The dead were judged (20:12):
All the wicked dead, both great and small, are forcefully brought before the
divine tribunal. A strong sense of dread wills bepervasive.Books was opened (20:12): These books detail the lives of the unsaved.
These books will provide the evidence to substantiate the divine verdict of destiny
in the lake of fire.
Their works that will be judged will include their
actions (Matthew 16:27), their words (Matthew 12:37), and even their thoughts
and motives (Luke 8:17; Romans 2:16). These books will also be used to
determine degrees of eternal suffering in the lake of fire (see Matthew
10:14-15; 11:22; Mark 12:38-40; Luke 12:47-48; Hebrews 10:29).The book of life
will also be there. As noted previously, this book contains the names of all of
God’s redeemed (see Philippians 4:3; Revelation 21:27). Noun saved person’s
name will be in the Lamb’s book of life (Luke 10:20).Those who participate in
the great white throne judgment will be resurrected in order to face judgment
(see John 5:28-29).
They
stand before this throne of judgment in much the same way that a criminal
stands in a court of law as the judge reads a sentence. Warren Wiersbe notes
some significant differences from a normal court scene: “There will be a Judge
but no jury, a prosecution but no defense, a sentence but no appeal. No one
will be able to defend himself or accuse God of unrighteousness.”1These
individuals appear at this judgment because they are already unsaved. This
judgment will not separate believers from unbelievers, for all who will
experience it will have already made the choice during their lifetimes to reject
God. They have a horrible destiny ahead: weeping and gnashing of teeth (Matthew
13:41-42)condemnation (Matthew 12:36-37)destruction (Philippians 1:28)eternal
punishment (Matthew 25:46)separation from God’s presence (2 Thessalonians
1:8-9)trouble and distress (Romans 2:9)The
sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were
in them (20:13): Virtually
every possible location and place will yieldthe bodies and souls of the
unrighteous dead—the sea, Death, and Hades. Each of the wicked will receive a
resurrection body capable of suffering forever (John5:28-29).Hades is a New
Testament term that refers to the temporary place of the dead(Luke 16:19-31).
The spirits or souls of the wicked dead are held captive there (2Peter 2:9). On
that future day, wicked evildoers will be raised from the dead—their spirits
being reunited with resurrection bodies—and they will be judged at the great
white throne judgment. Following this, their permanent place of suffering will
be the lake of fire.
Death
and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire (20:14): The apostle Paul affirmed that “the
last enemy to be destroyed is death” (1 Corinthians 15:26).Finally, after all
this time during which death has reigned supreme, this last enemy is destroyed.
Death and Hades (the abode of death) are tossed into the lake of fire. This is
the “second death.”We saw that the first death is physical death, or the
separation of the spirit or soul from the body (Genesis 35:18). Virtually all
people will experience the first death. The exceptions are those Christians who
are alive on earth at the rapture of the church and those who are alive at the
end of the millennial kingdom.
These
two groups will instantly receive glorified bodies (1 Corinthians 15:50-55;1
Thessalonians 4:13-17).The term “second death” refers to eternal separation
from God in the lake of fire, which is eternal hell. No believer will
experience the second death.If
anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life (20:15): When Christ opens the book of life, no
name of anyone present at the great white throne judgment is in it. Their names
do not appear in the book of life because they have rejected the source of life—Jesus
Christ. And because they rejected the source of life, they are cast into the
lake of fire, which constitutes the second death
.Major Themes
·
Fallen angels. Some fallen angels are already
confined, awaiting future judgment. Jude 6 affirms, “The angels who did not
stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he
has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the
great day.” Peter writes, “God did not spare angels when they sinned, but cast
them into hell and committed them to chains of gloomy darkness to be kept until
the judgment” (2 Peter 2:4). Other demonic spirits remain free to continue
their attacks on Christians(for example, Matthew 12:43; Mark 1:23,26; 3:30;
5:2,8; 7:25; 9:25;Luke 4:33; 8:29; 9:42; 11:24).2.
·
The last of Satan’s six judgments. The Bible notes six distinct judgments
against Satan:
·
cast out of
heaven (Ezekiel 28:16
·
• cursed in
the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:14-15)
·
• defeated at
the cross (John 12:31; Colossians 2:15; Hebrews 2:14
·
• cast out of heaven in the middle of the
tribulation (Revelation 12:13)
·
• confined in
the abyss during the millennial kingdom (Revelation 20:2)
·
• cast into
the lake of fire after the millennial kingdom (Matthew 25:41;Revelation 20:10)
Digging
Deeper with Cross-References
Fire
of judgment—Genesis
19:24; Exodus 9:23-24; Leviticus 9:24; 10:2;Numbers 11:1; 16:35; 26:10; 1 Kings
18:38; 2 Kings 1:10-14; Psalm11:6.The
judgment of the wicked—Psalm
62:12; Proverbs 24:12; Matthew16:27; Romans 2:6; Revelation 2:23.
Life
Lessons
1. No
infants at the great white throne.
Many Christian parents who have lost infants and young children in death ask
for assurance that they are saved. I am firmly convinced they are saved.
Infants and young children are not morally responsible and therefore cannot
possibly be called before the great white throne judgment (Deuteronomy 1:39;
Isaiah 7:15-16; Romans 9:11). Jesus expressed great love for little children
(see Matthew 18:3). David certainly knew he would be with his dead child in
heaven (2 Samuel 12:22-23).2.
2. The
depths of human sin.
The rebellion at the end of Christ’s millennial kingdom demonstrates the depth
of human sin. You and I thoroughly contaminated. Jesus often spoke of sin in metaphors
that illustrate the havoc sin can wreak. He described sin as blindness (Matthew
23:16-26), sickness (Matthew 9:12), bondage (John 8:34),and darkness (John
8:12; 12:35-46). Jesus also taught that both inner thoughts and external acts
render a person guilty (Matthew 5:28;Mark 7:21-23). We can be delivered from
the power of sin by depending on the Holy Spirit (see Galatians 5:16-25) and being
rooted in Jesus (John 15:1-11)
.Questions for Reflection and Discussion
1.
Have you or someone you know lost an infant or young child indeath? Have you
thought much about Scriptures that may relate to their salvation? Meditate a
few moments on Matthew 18:1-10.
2.
Many spiritual leaders have commented that the more they mature as Christians,
the more they become aware of the depth of sin in their lives (see Romans
7:15-20). Have you noticed the same thing? Have you noticed that the closer you
get to God and His light, the more clearly you notice the darkness? Truly, none
of us could be saved apart from God’s grace (Ephesians 2:8-9).
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