|
Audio to be uploaded…
Revelation 20
Let’s do some revision of Revelation. Let’s see if we can remember what’s
been happening.
Chapter 1: John’s vision of the risen
Christ – the Son of Man who walks among the churches, who was dead is now
alive and He holds the keys of death and hades.
Chapters 2-3: Christ addresses seven
churches
Chapters 4-5: A vision of the throne
room. The Father enthroned, the
Son approaches Him as the slain Lamb and He takes the scroll from the
Father’s hand – the title deeds to creation.
Then in we have the largest section of
Revelation: from chapter 6 to chapter 20. Here we see the unfolding of God’s
history by the Lamb Jesus. This
section shows us the history of the world from Christ’s ascension
into heaven right up until the time Christ returns from heaven at the end
of the age to judge the world.
And so of course chapters 21-22 show
us God’s new world – the new heavens and new earth. Here is God’s happily ever after. And it’s a wonderful vision. But most of Revelation – chapters 6-20
– tells us about the present time.
This middle section of Revelation is about now
– the period of time from Christ’s first until His second coming.
And what we see in these chapters is action
replays of this history from different angles. And do you know how many action replays we get? You could probably guess that we see
seven action replays of the history of the world (seven’s is a very
significant number in Revelation – a number of completion – of divine
perfection),
And so …
Chapter 6: The opening of the seven seals. Here the time leading up to the end
is described as a seven-fold judgement of the earth.
Then Chapter 8-11: Here we see the
same history from a different angle.
This time it’s the seven trumpets we see.
Then chapters 12-14: Here we are
introduced to the Dragon (Satan), the Beast and the False Prophet (his
earthly intermediaries). We see
how the church (God’s people) is persecuted by this unholy trinity. We’re also introduced to Babylon, who
is like a false church (a false people of God). In these chapters we’re told that there will be judgement
upon these evil forces and victory for God’s people.
Then chapters 15-16: Here we see this same period of
history again, this time it’s described in terms of the seven bowls of
judgement.
Then we see in Revelation the defeat of the
evil forces that were introduced in chapter 12-14.
In chapters 17-18: We see the
destruction of Babylon (the false church)
In chapter 19 (last week): we saw the
destruction of the Beast and the False prophet. That is the sixth angle in this action replay.
And now tonight we look at chapter 20:
And you can guess what chapter 20 is going to focus on. We’ve been working our way up the evil
chain of command in these replays, first we see Babylon’s destruction,
then the Beast and the False Prophet and now tonight, this angle
will show us the destruction of Satan himself.
When I was young I remember watching
Australian Rules Football with my grandma. And it always used to bother me, whenever someone kicked a
goal my grandma would say ‘he did it.’
But then they’d show an action replay from another angle and my
grandma would say ‘He scored again, and so soon.’ It didn’t matter how many times I explained
to her that this was the same goal from a different angle, every time someone
scored we’d go through the same thing: ‘He scored again.’
Unfortunately the same problem happens in
understanding Revelation. Many
people make what is, in my opinion, a great mistake by seeing each of
these replays as another goal. Effectively
they see seven different goals being scored when ultimately there’s just
one goal being scored but we’re viewing it from seven different angles.
And so as we turn to Revelation 20 we turn to
what is the most controversial chapter in the book. Because millions of people today
believe that what we see in this chapter follows what
happened in Revelation 19.
Do you remember last week? We saw Jesus in Revelation 19, verse
11, riding into town on a white horse to kill the bad guys. His eyes are flaming fire, His head
has many crowns, His tongue is a sword that strikes down nations, He has
a tattoo down His thigh saying ‘King of kings and Lord of lords’ and He
faces off against a mighty horde.
Verse 18 lists the enemies of Christ: there’s the beast and the
false prophet and there’s also “kings, generals, and mighty men… horses
and their riders, and …. all people, free and slave, small and
great." Here is everyone on
planet earth who has aligned themselves with evil and against
Jesus. This is it! Here is the final punch-up at the end of time. Here is the battle of Armeggedon. But of course we’ve already see
Armegeddon first mentioned in chapter 16 (verse 16). And then it’s described again in
chapter 17 (v14). And here it is
in chapter 19. And we’ll see this
cosmic punch-up again in chapter 20, verses 7-10. And each time we see it, we see Christ
facing off against every power of evil and every human who aligns with
evil. And each time we see it,
Christ destroys the bad guys. He
doesn’t half destroy them and then they pop up again in the next
chapter. He destroys them. There aren’t 3 Armegeddon’s or 4 or
7. Christ does not defeat all
evil and then have to do it again (and again). There’s one final face-off between Christ and evil but we
see it from different angles.
And so Revelation 20 is anoth angle on the
history of the world. The
thousand years that we read of in verses 1-6 are not a future thousand
years after Jesus returns. If
they were Jesus would return once to kill the bad guys in chapter 19 and
then we’d have 1000 years and then He’d have to kill the bad guys all
over again. There’d be two
judgement days.I’m not going to go into it, but those who hold such a
view are called pre-millenialists.
Don’t worry if you don’t know that phrase, if you do know about it
and want to talk about it afterwards I’m happy to chat. But just so every knows I think we’re
meant to read chapter 20 not as a future thousand years but a description
of the present age. Chapter 20 is
the same goal we’ve been witnessing since chapter 6, but viewed from one
last angle.
And in this angle we see Satan’s destruction
in two parts. First we see him
bound (v2). Then, after a
thousand years – a very long time – we see him finally defeated and thrown
into the lake of fire (v7-10).
Verses 7-10 are, as I’ve said, an action
replay of Armegeddon. And we see
a great amassing of troops – (v8) like the sand on the seashore. In cinematic terms we might be thinking
of Lord of the Rings – the Two Towers – just an inconceivably massive
horde, impossible to overthrow.
Verse 9 – they march across the breadth of the earth, they’re
opposing God’s people. But…
fire came down from heaven and devoured them. There simply is no battle.
There’s stockpiling of weapons, there’s amassing of troops,
there’s sabre-rattling. But the
minute God’s had enough – it’s over.
There’s a knockout punch before the bell for the first round has
sounded.
And that’s the truth that we must learn about
the devil. He has been
bound, He will make a lot of noise, but He’ll be snuffed out by Christ
the way you or I would blow out a candle.
Think about how Jesus spoke of the
devil. In Matthew 12 Jesus
descirbes the devil as a strong man who holds people in his
possession. And Christ describes
Himself as a Stronger Man who binds the strong man so He can release the
people. Christ at His first
coming describes Himself as binding Satan. And just before He goes to the cross Jesus says this in
John 12:
Now is the time for
judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out.
(John 12:31)
Jesus thinks that His first coming effects a judgement on Satan. At His first coming, through His life,
death and resurrection, Jesus binds Satan. He judges Him in a sense, He drives Him out. Jesus says He has won a
decive victory over Satan with His first coming.
But it doesn’t look like it, does it? Evil is still rampant.
Just ask the people of verse 4 about the evil of this present
world. Here we see those who have
been beheaded just because they have stood up for Jesus.
Revelation knows that this is a wicked world. It knows that the works of the devil
are still rampant – there is evil aplenty. Yet there is also a sense in which the devil is bound. What is that sense? Well v3 tells us – his ability to deceive
the nations has been curtailed, bound, confined. And of course the fruit of Jesus’
first coming was that the nations would be brought into the people of
God. Jesus said ‘When I am lifted
up I will draw all people to myself.’ (John 12:32) Nations that have been held in bondage
to Satan, who have been ignorant of the truth, have now come to the Light
who is Christ. Satan’s deception
of the nations has been limited, locked up, bound. The Gospel has gone out to the whole
world and Satan has not been able to stop it.
So these verses give us great hope.
At Christ’s first coming there was a decisive victory over the
devil. In the present time, even
in the midst of terrible suffering and persecution, the nations are
coming to Christ, Satan is bound, Jesus is plundering the strong man’s
house. And this period – where
there will be fierce opposition but also gospel growth – will be a
lengthy period of time. A
thousand years is a long time.
And so this is a much needed perspective in Revelation. We’ve seen our period of history
replayed from different perspectives.
And from the perspective of the seven seals or the seven trumpets
or the seven bowls it’s looked pretty grim. But that’s not the only perspective to look at it from.
This period of time is also ‘the millenium’ – a thousand years of
wonderful gospel growth.
So even if you’re beheaded for Christ, that cannot stop you reigning
with Christ. All your
executioners will do is usher you into the presence of your Lord.
And during this time Satan is bound and the nations are being
plundered – Italians and Indians and Spaniards and Ethiopians and
Brazilians and Mongolians and Britons and even Australians are coming out
of darkness and deception and finding freedom in Christ. This thousand years called the
millenium is now.
Just as the seven seals are now and the seven trumpets and the
seven bowls. Now is a time of
severe testing and opposition – people are being beheaded for their
faith. But it’s also a time in
which the gospel is advancing and in which even if you kill me, I reign
with Christ, for I have a part in the first resurrection.
Do you see at the end of verse 5:
This is the first
resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy are those who have part
in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but
they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a
thousand years.
Think about that verse for a second.
This verse implies there are two resurrections and two
deaths. Christians are people who
enjoy two resurrections – a first and a second. But, praise God, Christians are not people who suffer two
deaths. What’s the difference?
The day you trusted Jesus you enjoyed your first resurrection. You became a ‘new creation’ (2 Cor
5:17). Now unless Jesus returns
first, you will suffer the first death.
Your heart will stop beating and your body will go into the
ground, that is the first death – everyone suffers the first death. But on the day when Jesus returns you
will enjoy your second resurrection.
Jesus will raise you bodily to enjoy the new heavens and new
earth.
But if you haven’t trusted Jesus then you are not blessed, you
haven’t had a part of this first resurrection. And after you have suffered the first death and your heart
stops beating you will have to face Jesus. And when He returns at the second resurrection you will be
raised to suffer the second death.
Do you see how this works? If
you enjoy the first resurrection, you won’t suffer the second death. If
you don’t enjoy the first resurrection, you will suffer not only the
first death, but the second death.
In other words everybody will physically die (1st death)
and everybody will be physically raised (2nd
resurrection). But unless you
receive spiritual resurrection now, you will suffer spiritual, eternal
death then.
If you have two resurrections, you die only once.
If you only have the physical resurrection at the end – you die
twice.
And no-one wants to suffer the second death.
See how it’s described in v10.
This is pictorial language but the reality behind these images is
no less serious:
And the devil, who deceived
them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulphur, where the beast and
the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night
for ever and ever.
The second death is hell.
Described as a lake of fire.
Described as torment.
Described as the appointed punishment for the devil and his
angels.
And in case you’re thinking this is over the top. Or that it’s just the bizarre
apocalyptic rantings of some first century nut, let me remind you of what
Jesus said.
He said that on the last day – at the final resurrection – all
peoples would be gathered before Him.
And He would separate the world into just two camps with two
eternal destinations. Jesus didn’t
speak of three camps – the yes’s, the no’s and the maybe’s. Just two and they have only two
destinations. To the group on His
right He says:
`Come, you who are blessed
by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since
the creation of the world. (Matt
25:34)
To the group on His right He says:
`Depart from me, you who
are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his
angels. (Matt 25:41)
Notice eternal life is about either coming to Christ or departing
from Him. Jesus stands at a
cross-roads – an eternal cross-roads.
And notice how Jesus speaks to those on His right and says – the
kingdom is for you. It’s for
people. But who is the eternal
fire for? It’s for the devil and
his angels. Anyone who ends up in
hell (and many will) but anyone who ends up in hell has followed Satan
there.
Hell, the lake of fire, is not for people. Not first and foremost. But many end up there, following Satan
all the way to eternal destruction.
And the perspective of Revelation is mainly to show us judgement from
the big picture perspective. So
we see the judgement of Babylon, the Beast, the False Prophet and
Satan. These judgement scenes
focus on cleansing the earth of all evil. Even death, v14, is sent to hell. Death is killed.
What a wonderful day that will be. And as we read on into Revelation 21 we see just how
comprehensive this judgement will be. Look at verse 4:
…There will be no more
death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has
passed away.
There will be a day when these words are spoken: Death go to hell. Mourning, crying, pain – go to
hell. Sin, sickness, disease – go
to hell. Sexual abuse, drug
addiction, greed, violence, oppression – go to hell. Devil go to
hell. And they will go to the
lake of fire. And we will never
see them again.
Too easily we make peace with this sinful broken world. Too easily we accept sin and sickness
and suffering as normal. They’re
not normal. When Jesus confronted
these things in the Gospels He got angry. And when He confronts them at the end of time He will throw
them into the deepest pit. They
are enemies and they will be defeated.
One day God will end all evil.
But here’s the question: how can He end all evil, without
ending me. That’s the question. I know my heart – I know what I’ve
done – I’m caught up in this same evil. So how can God end evil, without
ending me?
Because look at v11 and the great white throne.
11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth
and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and
books were opened.
Can you imagine this scene?
Earth and sky flee from the presence of the Almighty Judge of all
the earth. Earth and sky flee –
what have earth and sky done to be afraid of the Judge? Wouldn’t we want to flee from the
great white throne of judgement?
Well we can’t hide. The
books are opened, and everything is revealed.
Can you imagine the book of your life? Can you imagine your life standing up to the scrutiny of
the Judge from whom even earth and sky flees? It will not. Our lives reveal that so much of our actions
follow the way of Satan – which is the way of pride and self. On that day we will all be revealed as
those who by nature gratify ourselves and therefore follow Satan.
(Ephesians 2:1-3). What hope can
any of us have on that day? God
will eradicate all evil – the books show that we too are caught up in
this evil – how can we stand on that day?
Well there’s another book in verse 12 – the book of life. This book doesn’t have deeds written
in it – it has names.
And the book of life is the book that really matters. Look at
verse15:
If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was
thrown into the lake of fire.
The question is not are my deeds known by the judge, the question is,
‘Am I known by the Judge?’
Is my name in the book of life?
Or let me put that question another way: Have I had the first resurrection? That’s the same question really. Those v6 ‘who have part in the first
resurrection’ are those who escape the second death – just like in
v15. So those who have received
new spiritual life from Jesus – they are those who are written in the
book of life.
Are you? Have you received
new life from Jesus? Then the
second death will never touch you.
If not, you must ask Jesus to give you resurrection.
He said: "I am the resurrection
and the life. He who believes in
me will live, even though he dies.
How can God end all evil without ending me? Well Jesus on the cross, tasted the lake of fire for
me. He took on my evil and
endured the physical and spiritual death it deserved. He then was resurrected to offer all
of us new life. Come to Jesus.
And those that have – have we thought the devil has been more
powerful than he really is? Oh he
much more powerful than we are.
But he’s not more powerful than Jesus. He is a defeated enemy.
Bound, awaiting final judgement.
Don’t give up praying for your family to come to Christ. Don’t give up on that non-Christian
friend. Just this weekend Emma
and I have seen wonderfully hopeful signs of faith in Emma’s family. It can seem like all is darkness and
deception, but the devil is bound.
He will not have the last word.
Back to sermons...
|
