Let's turn to Revelation chapter 20.
For those of you who don't know me, my name is Sean,
I'm one of the pastors of Trinity Cambridge Church.
If you don't have a Bible, please raise your hand.
We'd love to bring you a copy so that you can use it.
You can actually take it home with you.
We've been going through Revelation for most of this year, I believe,
and we are right now in Revelation 20.
Let me pray for the reading and preaching of God's Word.
Father, we need your help to understand this passage.
It's the Word that you spoke.
The Word that points us to the person and work of your Son, Jesus Christ.
The Word that is illuminated to our hearts by your Holy Spirit.
So, Lord, help us.
Fill us with a grand vision of your glory and power and sovereignty.
And fill us with hope and perseverance
as we wait for the return of our King, Jesus.
It's in His precious name we pray.
Amen.
If you are able, please stand and join me for the reading of God's Word
from Revelation 20, verses 1 to 6.
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven,
holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit
and a great chain.
And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent,
who is the devil and Satan,
and 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.
Then I saw thrones,
and seated on them were those
to whom the authority to judge was committed.
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 worshipped the beast or its image,
and had not received its mark on their foreheads
and their hands.
They came to life and reigned with Christ
for a thousand years.
The rest of the dead did not come to life
until the thousand years were ended.
This is the first resurrection.
Blessed and holy is the one
who shares in the first resurrection.
Over such, the second death has no power.
But they will be priests of God and of Christ,
and they will reign with him for a thousand years.
This is God's holy and authoritative word.
You may be seated.
As I mentioned last week,
this is one of the most difficult passages,
and one of the most hotly debated passages
in the book of Revelation.
And so I took last Sunday
to just kind of give you all the background for this.
So if you missed that,
I encourage you to go and listen to that.
It'll help you to understand this week's sermon.
In politics, there is an expression called
a lame duck.
And it refers to a politician
who is on his way out,
whether it's due to electoral losses
or something else.
It's already been determined
that he, this politician,
will be superseded by a different politician
in the near future.
And Revelation 20, 1 to 6,
reminds us that Satan is a lame duck.
And that his regime is about to be toppled
on this earth.
But that Christ is the true king
who will soon establish his millennial reign on earth.
And so we're going to talk first
about the jailing of Satan during the thousand years.
And then secondly, we'll talk about the reign of Christ
during the thousand years.
He says in verse 1,
Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven,
holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit
and a great chain.
And so I don't normally use the slides this often,
but because it's a difficult passage to follow,
I'm going to be using the slides quite a bit
so you guys can keep track.
And so we're addressing the question of the abyss here.
So this is not the first time
we've seen an angel holding the key
to the bottomless pit.
We saw it already in chapter 9, verses 1 to 2,
where an angel that had fallen from heaven to earth,
a fallen angel,
received the key to the bottomless pit
and then opened it
and then released a horde of demonic locusts.
So that fallen angel's name was Abaddon
or Apollyon in Greek,
which both mean destroyer.
So this is most likely in chapter 9
that was most likely referenced to Satan,
whom we were told in Revelation 12
was cast down, thrown down from heaven to earth
along with his angels.
The bottomless pit in Greek is abousos,
which is where we get the English word abyss.
It is the realm of demons.
This is not the eternal fire
prepared for the devil and his angels
that Jesus mentions in Matthew 25, 41,
which is the lake of fire mentioned in Revelation 20,
where the devil, the beast, and the false prophet,
and as well as all those who follow them
will all be in the end ultimately cast into.
Rather, this abyss,
in contrast from the lake of fire,
the abyss is the place of temporary incarceration
in which evil spirits can be imprisoned
and from which they can be released.
So in Luke 8, 30, 31, for example,
many demons named Legion
beg Jesus not to command them
to depart into the abyss
or to the bottomless pit.
So the difference, however,
between Revelation 9 and Revelation 20
is that this time it's not a fallen angel
that holds the key to the bottomless pit.
It's an angel coming down from heaven.
And this angel is not only holding in his hand
the key to the bottomless pit,
he's also holding a great chain,
which must be great
because it's going to be used
to bind the great dragon.
And it says in verses 2 to 3
that he sees the dragon,
that ancient serpent,
who is the devil and Satan,
and 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.
Can you guys hear me okay?
Am I ringing?
No? Okay.
The angel of the bottomless pit
is now himself seized and bound
and locked up in that bottomless pit.
Before he had the key to it,
now he's bound and it's like he's under house arrest.
And this highlights the sovereignty of God.
In 9.1, this angel was given,
if you remember,
was given the key to the bottomless pit.
And where did he get the key from?
Who gave him this key?
This is the divine passive construction.
He says that he was given the key.
It's a divine passive construction
that is trying to indicate
that while God is never directly behind evil,
that he's nonetheless completely sovereign over evil.
So we were told in Revelation 1, 17 to 18,
who ultimately holds this key
to death and Hades and even to the abyss.
It's Jesus said,
fear not, I am the first and the last
and the living one.
I died and behold,
I am alive forevermore.
And I have the keys of death and Hades.
So as the resurrected Lord,
Jesus holds the key of death and Hades.
And so even though Satan is king
over his demonic minions,
in relation to King Jesus,
he is nothing more than a lackey,
a slave, a prison warden.
Even this powerful angel
who can seize the great dragon
and bind him and throw him into the prison,
he receives the key ultimately,
his authority from Christ,
who is the king of kings and the Lord of lords.
And so Satan is locked up
in this bottomless pit in verse one,
and then he's released again in verse seven,
and only to be captured again
and then thrown into his final destiny,
which is the lake of fire or hell,
in verse 10.
So this vaunted great dragon
that whose fearsome description
we saw in chapter 12
is treated,
it's tossed around like a floppy rag doll
in this passage.
And if Christ can make easy work
of Satan, our greatest enemy,
even the most vicious persecutors
of the church,
even the most powerful dictators
in the world,
even the most intractable diseases
in our lives,
and the tragic disasters
throughout the world,
whatever it might be,
no matter the highs and lows of life
and the unexpected turns of life,
we can rest assured
that God Almighty is sovereign.
Now what exactly is the millennium?
Is it a literal thousand years?
I don't think the thousand years
is a literal thousand years
because nearly all of the numbers
that we have seen so far
in the book of Revelation
have had symbolic significance.
A thousand years
is an often used literary figure
for a long time.
So for example,
it says in Psalm 90 verse four,
for a thousand years in your sight
are but as yesterday
when it is past.
First Chronicles 16.15,
David exhorts the Israelites
to remember God's covenant forever.
The word that he commanded
for a thousand generations.
So a thousand generations
is parallel poetically to forever
because it represents
a really long time.
So I don't think it's referring
to a literal thousand generations
or a thousand years here
but to an indefinitely
long period of time.
And the multiples of thousands
have already been used symbolically
in the book of Revelation
up to this point.
And because post-millennialists
and amillennialists
and if you don't know
what I'm talking about,
I'm sorry.
I had to listen to the sermon last week.
Post-millennialists believe
that Jesus returns
after the millennium
and amillennialists believe
that we're already in the millennium
and there will be no future millennium.
They think that Christ's second coming
is after the millennium
and for that reason,
they argue that Revelation 21 to 6
must be going back in time
to describe the first coming of Jesus
even though it comes after chapter 19
which describes the second coming of Jesus.
So this is a possibility
because Revelation does employ
progressive parallelism
and I've talked to you about this.
For example,
how we saw the seven seals
and the seven trumpets
and the seven bowls of judgments
are not occurring in linear
chronological succession
but actually are recapitulations
or repeats
and different angles
of the same judgments
in a parallel
but also progressive way.
And so it is a possibility
that this is doing the same thing
in Revelation 21 to 6.
However,
I don't think
that verses 1 to 6
is an instance of that
because there are
chronological markers
in the text
that suggest that
the judgment of Babylon
and of the beast
and false prophet
and finally the dragon
happen in sequence.
In 1920
when Christ,
the king,
returns on his white horse
both the beast
and the false prophet
are captured
and then thrown
into the lake of fire
that burns with sulfur.
Then having dealt
with the beast
in 20 verses 2 to 3
the attention is paid
to the dragon.
The dragon is bound
and locked up in prison
so that he might not deceive
the nations any longer
and until the thousand years
were ended.
After that
he must be released
for a little while
so until after
these are chronological markers.
That means there was
a period of time
when Satan was deceiving
the nations
and then there's a period
of time
during the millennium
when he cannot deceive
the nations.
So and after that
he is released again
as we see in verse 7 and 8
and when the thousand years
are ended
Satan will be released
from his prison
and will come out
to deceive the nations.
It's clearly happening
in sequence.
And it's after
this final period
of deception
of the nations
by the dragon
after his release
from the dungeon
in Revelation 20 verse 10
he says that
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.
I think that's
the decisive clue.
Verse 10 tells us
that when the devil
is finally thrown
into the lake of fire
the beast
and the false prophet
are already there.
And the only time
Revelation has spoken
of the beast
and the false prophet
being thrown
into the lake of fire
was in chapter 19
verse 20
at the second coming
of Jesus.
So this verse assumes
that the event
of chapter 20
are happening in sequence
after the events
of chapter 19
which describes
the second coming
of Jesus
and his judgment
of the beast.
All that to say
I don't think
1 to 6
is a recapitulation
I think it's happening
in sequence
which means
the millennium
must occur
after Christ's
second coming.
Now one of the
strongest
amillennial objections
to reading chapters
19 to 20
sequentially
they don't want
to read it sequentially
is that according
to 19, 11, 20
11 to 21
Christ has already
vanquished his enemies.
So the great supper
of God
remember when he
offered the flesh
of kings
to the carrion birds
that's already
taken place
in chapter 19.
So well
if Christ
has already
defeated
and punished
the nations
then what
nations
are there
left
for Satan
to deceive
in verse 3?
So the amill argument
is that Satan
being bound
that he might
not deceive
the nations
any longer
cannot be occurring
after the second coming
that is described
in chapter 19
but it must be
going back
to Christ's
first coming.
However
when you look
closely at the text
I don't think
that argument
is as strong
as it initially
seems.
in 1919
it tells us
exactly the identity
of those
who were
being struck
down by Christ
it's the beast
and the false prophet
and the kings
of the earth
with their armies
it's those
among the nations
who follow
the lead
of the beast
and the kings
of the earth
to make war
against Christ
after his return
that are destroyed
by Christ
in chapter 19
not all
of the nations.
in fact
it says
in 1915
from his mouth
comes a sharp sword
with which
to strike down
the nations
and he will
rule them
with a rod
of iron.
Jesus strikes
down the nations
but apparently
there's still
nations left over
whom he will
rule
with the rod
of iron
future tense
as Revelation 12
verse 5 said
Jesus is the one
who is to rule
all the nations
with the rod
of iron.
Jesus doesn't
rule over
his own people
with a rod
of iron.
He rules
over the nations
with a rod
of iron
and that takes
place during
the millennial
reign
and when Satan
is released
from his prison
after the millennium
in verses 7 and 10
he will come out
to deceive the nations
and gather them
for war against Christ
in the city
of Jerusalem
and it is at that
point that all
the nations
who had opposed
Christ
are finally judged
before the great
white throne
and then thrown
into the lake
of fire.
Now this
understanding
of Revelation 20
makes good sense
in light of
Revelation 2
26 where Christ
promised
the one who
conquers
and who keeps
my works
until the end
to him I will
give authority
over the nations
and he will
rule them
with a rod
of iron
as when earth
and pots
are broken
in pieces
even as I
myself have
received authority
from my father.
So God's
people who endure
who conquer
and who endure
to the end
faith
are supposed
to at some
point rule
over the nations
with the rod
of iron
joining in
Christ's rule.
When does that
happen in the book
of Revelation?
Are the saints
right now in heaven
reigning over
the nations
with the rod
of iron?
It doesn't seem
that way.
If there is no
millennial reign
after Christ's
second coming
this rule
that was promised
in Revelation
2 26
never takes place.
So the timeline
I am suggesting
is confirmed
also by
Zechariah 14
which describes
it's a prophecy
of Christ's
return
and the war
that takes place
with the kings
after his return
and it says
in 14 16
that everyone
who survives
of all the nations
shall go up
year after year
to worship
the king
the lord of hosts
and to keep
the feast of boots.
So it sounds
like there are
survivors
after the war
among the nations
and this seems
to be describing
the millennial reign
of Christ.
So then
when is
a thousand years?
I think it's
after Christ's
second coming
which is
I am a historic
pre-millennialist
who believes
that Christ
will return
pre-millennium
before the thousand years.
Now let's turn
to another
interpretive issue
that has bearings
on this question.
By the way
I cut six
single pages
out of my sermon
for this
and so
I'm gonna
just either
I didn't have
a chance
to print it out
but I'll share
that with you
as a PDF form
on our church slack
so if you are
actually familiar
with some of
these arguments
and want to know
how more extensive
interaction with
the Amel positions
I'd encourage you
to read that
for the sake of
not boring you
to death
and also actually
sharing something
that's encouraging
I'm gonna
I abbreviate a lot
of the details
so bear with me
I know this
is kind of hard
to follow.
Where was I?
What does it mean
that Satan is bound?
So Amel and
Postmill people
cite Matthew 12
28 to 29
as evidence
that the millennium
begins with the
first coming of Christ
and I think that's
actually one of
their strongest
arguments.
In Matthew 12
Jesus is casting
out demons
and his detractors
argue that he's
using the power
of the prince
of demons
the Beelzebul
in order to cast
out these
little demons
demons
but Jesus
exposes their
folly by telling
them well if
Satan casts out
Satan then he is
divided against
himself how then
will his kingdom
stand?
Instead he tells
them that he's
casting out demons
by the spirit of
God and then he
adds this
how can someone
enter a strong
man's house
and plunder
his goods
unless he first
binds the strong
man then indeed
he may plunder
his house.
So that word
bind is the
exact same word
that's used in
Revelation 20
verse 2
when it says
an angel
bound Satan
for a thousand
years.
So Jesus
has bound
Satan
the strong
man
in his first
coming which
is why he
is able to
plunder his
house and
cast out demons
and bring
salvation to
all nations.
At his death
and resurrection
Jesus defeated
Satan and
secured the
gift of the
spirit for all
of his people
and this is a
fulfillment of
the prophecy
in Psalm 82
when he said
that God
himself will
come to
dispossess
the so-called
gods of
the nations
and inherit
all nations
to himself.
This is why
in the Old
Testament
the movement
of salvation
is centripetal.
It goes
toward the
center
toward the
people of
God
in Jerusalem.
But in
the New
Testament
the movement
of salvation
is centrifugal.
It goes
out from
Jerusalem
to all Judea
and Samaria
and to the
ends of the
earth
to bear
witness to
the nations.
In the Old
Covenant
salvation
was restricted
mostly to
the Jews
though there
were some
Gentiles.
But in the
New Covenant
salvation
comes upon
the Gentiles.
So this is
all true
and biblical
which is why
I think this
is one of
their most
compelling
arguments.
However,
I don't
think Revelation
20 verse 2
has in view
that binding
for several
reasons.
First,
it's interesting
that all of
the Synoptic
Gospels,
Matthew,
Mark,
and Luke
contain that
passage about
the binding
of the strong
man.
The only
Gospel that
does not
contain that
passage is
the Gospel
of John
which happens
to be written
by the same
author as
Revelation.
The language
that John
uses to
describe the
defeat of
Satan is
not one of
binding but
of being
cast out.
John 12
31,
now is the
judgment of
this world,
now will the
ruler of this
world be
cast out.
And where
is Satan
cast out of?
Not out of
this world.
John writes
elsewhere in
1 John 5
19,
we know that
we are from
God and the
whole world
lies in the
power of the
evil one.
Does it sound
like he's cast
out of the
world?
2 Corinthians
4, 3-4,
and even if the
Gospel is
veiled, it is
veiled to those
who are perishing.
In their case,
the God of
this world has
blinded the
minds of the
unbelievers to
keep them from
seeing the
light of the
Gospel of the
glory of Christ.
Does that sound
like Satan being
cast out of
this world and
being unable to
deceive?
1 Peter 5, 8
says, be sober
minded, be
watchful.
Your adversary,
the devil, prowls
around like a
roaring lion,
seeking someone
to devour.
Is Satan bound
with chains in
the abyss or
prowling around like
a roaring lion?
Is he no longer
deceiving the
nations or is he
blinding the
minds of the
unbelievers?
What John is
describing in
John 12, 31,
is not Satan being
cast out from
the earth to
the abyss.
No, he's
describing Satan
being cast out
from heaven to
earth.
Isn't that what
Jesus said in
Luke 10, 18,
19?
I saw Satan
fall like
lightning from
heaven.
This is what
we saw described
in Revelation 12
when after Jesus'
death and
resurrection and
ascension on
earth, from
earth, Satan is
defeated by
Archangel Michael
in heaven and
it said in
Revelation 12, 8-9,
but the dragon
was defeated and
there was no
longer any place
for them in
heaven.
And the great
dragon was thrown
down, the ancient
serpent who is
called the devil
and Satan, the
deceiver of the
whole world.
He was thrown
down to the
earth and his
angels were thrown
down with him.
That word thrown
down is a
variation of the
same Greek word
that John used in
John 12, 31 when
he said this ruler
of this world is
cast out.
So people who
claim that
Revelation 20, 1-6
is this
description of the
first coming of
Christ argue that
it's a recapitulation
or repeat of what
happened in Revelation
12 that I was just
talking about.
But there are key
differences.
I can highlight that
for you.
In 12, 8-9, Satan
is thrown down to
the earth from
heaven.
But in 20, verse 3,
Satan is thrown
down into the
bottomless pit from
earth.
That's why the
angel in chapter 20,
verse 1, comes down
from heaven to
earth in order to
seize, bind, and
imprison Satan.
In 12, 12-13, 18,
the result of Satan
being thrown down
to the earth, the
deceiver of the
whole world, is that
he becomes furious
and makes war
against the saints.
And then he makes
the beast and the
false prophet rise
forth from the
abyss and he makes
them deceive the
nations.
He's called the
deceiver of the
whole world in
12, 9.
He deceives those
who dwell on
earth.
Through the
beast and the
false prophet
in chapter 13,
verse 14.
He deceives the
nations through
Babylon sorcery in
1823.
Again and again,
we're told throughout
the Revelation that
in the church age,
Satan and his
minions are deceiving
the nations, which
is exactly what verse
3 tells us Satan
cannot do while he's
bound in the pit, so
that he might not
deceive the nations
any longer until the
thousand years
were ended.
So which is it?
Is Satan furious on
earth, wreaking havoc
as the deceiver of
the world with
authority over the
nations, or is Satan
bound and unable to
deceive the nations?
The immediate context
of the book of
Revelation, which is
the most important
biblical context for
us to consider in
interpreting this,
suggests that these
two chapters are not
referring to the same
events, Revelation 12
and Revelation 20.
Revelation 12 is
describing the first
coming of Christ.
Revelation 20 is
describing the second
coming of Christ.
In Revelation 9, Satan
was given the key to
the bottomless pit and
he opened the shaft of
the bottomless pit to
release the demonic
locusts.
In Revelation 20, Satan
is locked in this
bottomless pit.
These two things cannot
be referring to the
same event.
Revelation 11, 7 and
17, 8 says that the
beast rises from the
bottomless pit and makes
war on the saints.
So are they rising from
the bottomless pit or are
they bound in the
bottomless pit?
They're not referring to
the same events.
So now why does all of
this matter?
The point of chapter 20
verses 1 to 3 isn't to
tell us Satan is bound
and can no longer
deceive.
So the advance of the
gospel all over the
world is unstoppable and
the triumph of the
gospel throughout human
society is inevitable.
So go boldly and
change the world.
The tide has turned,
momentum is on your
side.
That's not the point of
Revelation 20, 1 to 6.
That is the argument of
the postmillennialists.
However, the point of
Revelation 20, 1 to 3 is
to cultivate Christian
triumphalism.
It's intended to cultivate
Christian hope and
endurance.
Christ did not send us
out as lions among wolves.
He sent us out as sheep
among wolves.
to follow in the footsteps
of the lamb who was
slain by enduring
suffering and even death
for the sake of Christ.
Right now, Satan is at
large prowling around
like a roaring lion.
Right now, he is making
war against the saints and
conquering us and killing
us, God's people.
Right now, he is deceiving
the nations and blinding
the minds of the
unbelievers so that they
cannot see the light of the
glory of the gospel of
Christ.
Don't we all know that
frustration?
We've seen it.
But we go bear witness
anyway.
Because blessed are you
when people persecute and
revile you and say all
kinds of false things about
you on the economy.
Because in the same way
they persecuted the
prophets who were before
you.
For rejoice and be glad,
for your reward is great
in heaven.
Don't lose hope.
Persevere.
Because Satan is a lame
duck whose regime is about
to be toppled.
His days are numbered.
The timer is ticking down.
Christ is coming soon.
So pledge your allegiance,
loyalty to Christ the King
who will reign during the
millennium and forevermore.
That's the point of
Revelation 20 verses 1 to 3.
Now that we've looked at
the jailing of Satan during
the thousand years, let's
look at the reign of Christ
during the thousand years
in verses 4 to 6.
He says in verse 4,
Then I saw thrones, and
seated on them were those
to whom the authority to
judge was committed.
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
worshipped 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.
People who subscribe to
amillennialism argue that
these thrones are a picture
of deceased saints reigning
with Christ in heaven,
like the 24 thrones and the
24 elders that were in
heaven around the throne of
God that we saw in
Revelation 4 and 11.
However, I think it's more
likely that John is seeing
those heavenly thrones now
appearing on earth because
verse 1 already narrated the
transition of the scene from
heaven to earth.
He saw an angel coming down
from heaven, which means the
angel is on earth now.
And that means the
subsequent events described
in verses 1 to 6 are
happening on earth and not
in heaven.
He said in verse 3 that the
purpose of the jailing of
Satan for a thousand years
was so that he might not
deceive the nations any
longer.
And where are these nations?
There are no nations in
heaven that do not yet know
God.
There are no nations to be
deceived in heaven.
The events of Revelation
verse 6 are happening on
earth.
These thrones and those who
are seated on them with the
authority to judge might be
the 24 elders, representatives
of the 12 tribes of Israel
and the 12 apostles of the
Lamb, since we've seen them
sitting on thrones before.
And if that is the case,
this is the fulfillment of
Jesus' promise to his
apostles in Matthew 19, 28.
In the new world, when the
Son of Man will sit on his
glorious throne, you who have
followed me will also sit on
12 thrones, judging the 12
tribes of Israel.
The Greek word translated the
new world is rendered by the
NIV and the CSB as the
renewal of all things.
This is not speaking of the
apostles presently reigning in
Christ in heaven while our
fallen world groans under the
weight, in pains of child
birth, under the weight of
sin.
It's speaking of the time when
the apostles will reign over and
judge the world at the time of
Christ's return, at the renewal
rule of all things in the new
world.
But it's not only the 24 elders
who will be ruling and judging
the world.
In addition to those who are
seated on the thrones, it says
in verse 4,
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 worshipped the beast or its
image and had not received this
mark on their foreheads or their
hands.
They came to life and reign with
Christ for a thousand years.
So these are the souls of those
who had been beheaded for
bearing witness to Jesus.
But not only the martyrs, not
only those who were killed for
their faith, but also all those
who did not bow down to the
beast and its image.
All believers, that means.
Not only the apostles will get to
partake in the reigning and
judging of Christ in the
millennial kingdom.
I think this is what 1 Corinthians
6, 2 spoke of.
Do you not know that the saints
will judge the world?
This is a fulfillment of
Revelation 5, 9 to 10, that
Jesus had made, that Jesus
made his people a kingdom and
priests to our God, and they
shall reign on the earth.
Remember, note that.
It says that they'll reign on the
earth as kingdom and priests to
our God, and that matches
chapter 20, verse 6, which
clarifies that we'll be priests
of God and reign with Christ.
On the earth today, we
Christians are on the dock.
In the court of public opinion,
as Bible-believing Christians, we
are often objects of the world's
judgment and ridicule and
condemnation.
How many times have you heard your
peers at school or your co-workers
or media pundits make snide remarks
about our theological or ethical
beliefs?
The world stands in judgment over
us.
But remember this.
Do you know that in the
millennium, the saints will judge
the world?
And if the saints' reign will take
place on the earth, as it says in
Revelation 5, then verse 4 cannot be
speaking of a spiritual resurrection
and reign of the saints in heaven.
So then the first resurrection in
view in verse 4 has to be a
physical resurrection.
That's what we're going to talk
about next.
It says in verse 4,
I saw the souls of those who had
been beheaded for the testimony of
Jesus.
They came to life and reigned with
Christ for a thousand years.
The word beheaded clearly speaks of
physical death, which means that the
souls is a reference to disembodied
souls.
So what does it mean that disembodied
souls came to life?
The only thing that it can mean is
that they were physically resurrected
because these souls were not dead to
begin with.
The Bible teaches that it does teach
the immortality of the soul.
And for that reason, when it speaks of
the soul of deceased believers being
translated into heaven in the
intermediate state between the first
and second coming of Christ, between
physical death and physical
resurrection, it never speaks of the
soul coming to life.
It never uses the language of
resurrection.
For example, it says in Philippians 1,
21 to 23, for to me, to live is
Christ and to die is gain.
If I am to live in the flesh, that
means fruitful labor for me, yet which
I shall choose I cannot tell.
I am hard pressed between the two.
My desire is to depart and be with
Christ, for that is far better.
So here Paul speaks of remaining physically
alive in order to minister.
But he talks also of dying physically so
that he can depart and be with Christ.
He doesn't say that his soul will come to
life or be resurrected.
He says that his soul will be departing to
be with Christ.
Similarly, in 2 Corinthians 5, 8, Paul writes,
we would rather be away from the body and
at home with the Lord.
Once again, Paul uses the language of
travel rather than of resurrection.
Away home, from home, depart.
And that makes good sense because the soul
never dies.
So it is nonsensical to speak of a soul being
raised to life.
Even in the book of Revelation, when John
speaks of souls in the intermediate state in
heaven, for example, Revelation 6, 9, 11, and 14, 13,
it uses the word rest to describe their state.
It never uses the language of resurrection.
The Greek word that is translated resurrection
here in Revelation 20 appears 41 times in the
New Testament.
And it refers to a physical resurrection
all of those times except for one.
It's Luke 2, 34.
And in Luke 2, 34, the word is used figuratively
to refer to the fall and rising of many.
Similar to how we say that somebody's career
was resurrected.
It's being used figuratively in Luke 2, 34.
So then, apart from that one instance where the
word is not even being used literally,
all instances of the word resurrection refers
to the physical resurrection of people in the
New Testament.
So then, there must be compelling, contextual
evidence in Revelation 20 itself for us to not
understand this word as referring to a physical
resurrection.
But in this case, no such compelling evidence
exists.
In Revelation 2, verse 8, which is a very close
parallel, Jesus says the words of the first and
the last who died and came to life.
Exact same Greek word in the exact same tense as the
one in Revelation 24 to 5 and refers to Christ's
physical resurrection.
Similarly, it refers to the beast's physical
resurrection using the same language in Revelation
13, 14.
Furthermore, the nature of the second resurrection
that we see here gives us a clue for understanding
the nature of the first resurrection.
It says in verse 5,
the rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand
years were ended.
The believing dead come to life at the beginning of the
millennium, but the unbelieving dead come to life after the
millennium.
This is what Jesus talks about in John 5, 28 to 29.
Do not marvel at this for an hour is coming when all who are in
the tombs will hear his voice and come out.
Those who have done good to the resurrection of life, those who have
done evil to the resurrection of judgment.
It's interesting that Jesus distinguishes those two resurrections, the
resurrection of life and the resurrection of judgment.
And here it's clearly a physical resurrection.
They come out from the tombs.
For this reason, among all the millennial positions, there is almost universal
agreement that the second resurrection in view here is a physical
resurrection.
And if the second resurrection is physical, then in all likelihood, the first
resurrection is also physical.
The first resurrection, the believing dead come to life.
And in the second resurrection, the unbelieving dead come to life.
The exact same words are used to describe these two resurrections in the span of
two verses.
Verse 5 says that the rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand
years were ended.
That implies that the other dead, because rest of the dead implies rest of the
dead.
So that means the other dead, the believing dead, already came to life in the
same way that the unbelieving dead will come to life after the millennium.
Namely, physically.
And this is not the only place where the Bible speaks of two resurrections.
We already saw how Jesus distinguished the resurrection of life from the
resurrection of judgment in John 5.
Similarly, Paul describes the order of the resurrections in 1 Corinthians 15, 22,
to 25.
For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive, but each in his
own order.
Christ the first fruits, then at his coming, those who belong to Christ, then comes the
end when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every
authority and power.
For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.
The last enemy to be destroyed is the death.
So you see the three resurrections there.
Revelation 20 follows this precise order.
First, Christ is resurrected.
Second, saints are resurrected at his second coming.
And apparently that is not the end.
Because third, and it says in Revelation 20, 13 to 14, 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.
There's another resurrection there.
Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.
This is the second death, the lake of fire.
So the order is first, Christ's resurrection.
Second, the first resurrection of the saints at the second coming.
Then third, the second resurrection of unbelievers after the millennium.
And then the final judgment and the second death in which death itself will be destroyed.
The center for the study of global Christianity based in Gordon-Conwell's theological seminary
estimates that 70 million Christians have been martyred for their faith over the last 2,000 years.
70 million.
Open Door's ministry estimates that 5,621 Christians were murdered because of their faith this past year.
And all that seems so final, doesn't it?
What can be done about their lost days?
What can be done about their lost lives?
Do we just tell them, well, hey, be happy that, you know, at least your souls are alive in heaven?
No.
We have a greater hope than that.
The victory of Christ is not total and the vindication of the saints is not complete until death, our last enemy, is vanquished.
Though the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet make war against the saints and conquer them,
all the damage that they do, including death itself, will be finally and irrevocably reversed.
Our great hope, brothers and sisters, is not in the immortality of the soul, but the resurrection of the body.
But then why doesn't God just bring about the final consummation and a new heaven and a new earth depicted in Revelation 21 right away,
along with the second coming and the resurrection of the saints?
What is the purpose of this intervening millennial reign of Christ on earth?
In this present world, we walk by faith and not by sight.
We don't get to see the reign of Christ on earth today.
But in the millennial kingdom, the reign of Christ, which is at present invisible,
will find its visible expression in history so that all might see.
Have you ever felt aggrieved, pained, injured, and wronged by the reality that Christ's name is blasphemed
and that the word of God is trampled upon by sinful men?
Have you ever lamented the sinful leaders of our world and how different it would be if Christ the king were to reign physically here over the earth?
In the millennium, we will get to see that.
The people of heaven for millennia, we had to, the Christians for millennia, had to endure living in a sinful world that is under the tyrannical regime of the dragon,
being persecuted and harassed by the beast, the false prophet, and the Babylon.
So there is symmetrical justice and vindication when the people of earth have to live in the millennium where the dragon is imprisoned
and Christ is reigning from the throne where he belongs.
In the millennium, we will see the nations of the world give Christ finally the honor and the glory that is due to his name
that we have longed to see but have failed to see here in our own life.
That's the intended effect of this passage, to fill us with hope that enables us to endure
because Satan is a lame duck and a glorious regime change is coming.
He says in verse 6,
Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection.
Over such, the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ
and they will reign with him for a thousand years.
Do you fret now that unbelieving sinners live to ripe old age while some faithful Christians are persecuted and killed
for being witnesses of Jesus?
Does it seem unfair to you that the true king goes unrecognized and that his servants are disrespected?
Fret not because though the dragon and the beast make war against doesn't kill us.
That's only the first death.
Though Christians might be the first to die, we will get to share in the first resurrection.
And over those, the second death has no power.
Jesus has removed the sting of death on our behalf so that it no longer has power over those who have put their trust in him.
A killer bee sting can be very painful and deadly if there's more than one.
But if a bee sting, if the bee sting gets wedged inside your skin,
when the killer bee tries to run away, its sting is ripped away along with part of its abdomen
and the internal organs so that it dies from disembowelment in several minutes.
That's what Jesus has done to death itself when he died on the cross for our sins.
He bore our punishment and the wrath that we deserved on the cross.
Death stung him.
It killed him.
But because Jesus was the sinless and blameless son of God, death could not hold him down.
And in his resurrection from the dead, Jesus de-stinged death.
He disemboweled death itself so that the day when death and Hades itself will be thrown into the lake of fire is surely coming.
Death is swallowed up in victory.
Oh, death, where is your victory?
Oh, death, where is your sting?
The sting of death is sin and the power of sin is the law.
But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
That's why we need not fear death.
Saints of Christ, remember that our defeat and death are temporary.
Our eternal destiny is resurrection and rule.
Let's pray together.
Oh, Father, please help us to look past the nitty-gritty exegetical details of this passage
and to be able to grasp this blessed hope.
Enlarge our understanding, our vision of our destiny, what you want for us in Christ,
our future resurrection and reign with him,
so that we are captivated by that reality and we walk daily in light of that reality by faith and not by sight.
Oh, but Lord, we long for that day when our faith will be turned to sight,
when we will see your reign over all the earth, over all the nations.
Come, Lord Jesus.
In your precious name we pray.
Amen.