Revelation Chapter 20 Verses 1 – 3

 This is an unnamed angel that essentially lays hold of Satan, captures

him and binds him. To be able to do those things, the implication is

the he is greater. Or is it because of the authority he carries? I want to

make a statement that requires careful thoughtfulness and I’ll tell you

why after I make the statement. Satan is readily and easily

defeatable.

 Your free will alone is more powerful than the greatest strength of

Satan. James 4:7 says, “Submit to God. Resist the devil and he will

flee from you.” Any excuse of the devil made me do it is immediately

false. Because in actuality, he is so powerless in and of himself, that

even the free will granted to you by the sovereignty of God is enough

to obliterate him. Could be one of the reasons he despised God so

much. God made mud mightier than him!

 When Satan is fully revealed after the Millennial Reign, at the time of

the White Throne Judgment, the collective conclusion of creation

upon looking at him will be, “really?” This is the one that gave us so

much trouble? Isaiah 14:16 says, “Those who see you will gaze at you,

and consider you, saying, ‘Is this the man who made the earth tremble,

who shook kingdoms, who made the world as a wilderness, and

destroyed its cities?”

 Here’s the point. The angel is dispatched from heaven. Just like the

Word of God. Just like the spirit-filled Christian. And you and I have

the power to overcome, to endure, to win…, and that power is all

wrapped up in our choice to submit to God or not. 1 John 4:4 says,

“You are of God, little children (notice the dependence and

submission, like a child submitted to their parent), and have overcome

them, because he who is in you is greater than he who is in the

world.”

 Now, the requirement of careful thoughtfulness. Satan is far more

slimy, deceitful, duplicitous, insidiously double-dealing than we can

know. He is the father, the source code, of all lies! While he is no

match for us literally, we are no match for him practically. This is why

millions upon billions of people who all want excellent eternal life will

end up alone, in outer darkness, in soulish torment. Because without

the Holy Spirit, his ability to deceive is indefensible.

 So, I don’t invite anyone to challenge Satan. But we see here in the

text a revelation of his strength. Which is nil. His strength is to lull

you to sleep, to draw you away from God, so that you destroy

yourself.

 At this point in the eschatological timeline, Satan is bound for a

thousand years and cast into the bottomless pit. Which is an intriguing

thought of he does nothing but fall this entire time. And I love this

picture of reversal… Satan bound Jesus and shut Him up into a tomb,

all the while we now see that Jesus was in complete control. Knowing

the end of the matter. That it would be Satan bound, Satan captured,

Satan shut up, and Satan sealed into the bottomless pit.

 After the thousand years, he will be released for a little while, why?

Simple. No one can enter into the pure perfection of the New Heaven

and New Earth that has not made a decision for Jesus Christ. If it was

permitted for folks to enter in, then it would be the Garden of Eden all

over again where the requirement of choice remained. And therefore,

sin could birth again. But everyone entering into the New Heaven and

New Earth has already chosen, so no more choice remains. It’s all

settled. 100%. No more shot, chance, risk, nothing of any sort of

opportunity for things to go south again…

 So, there will be children, and children’s children, and children’s

children’s children born during the thousand years that from birth have

known nothing but righteousness. Nothing but the reign of Jesus

Christ and the armies of heaven. No choice, just perfect peace with the

Prince of peace. So, Satan will be released for a little while so that

everyone must choose. And oddly enough, we will see many that

were born under the reign of Jesus, the perfect Leader, the perfect

Father, still choose extremely poorly and perish with Satan.

 What will the Millennial Reign of Christ look like? Israel will be the

center of the world and the superpower of all nations (Isaiah 2:1-3,

Ezekiel 17:22-24). All people will submit to and reverence the rule of

Jesus Christ and it will be a time of perfectly administered and

enforced righteousness on the earth (Isaiah 2:1-5). There will be no

wars. There may be conflicts and disagreements but they will be justly

and decisively handled under the administration of Jesus (Isaiah 2:1-

5). Animals will change in their interactions with each other and with

humans (Isaiah 11:6-9). King David will be on the scene with some

sort of prominent position (Isaiah 55:3-5, Jeremiah 30:4-11, and

others). Saints, Christians will be given jobs, responsibility and

authority to rule over the earth under Jesus (Luke 19:11-27, Revelation

20:4-6, and others).

Revelation Chapter 20 Verse 4

 Who are these sitting on the thrones, who have judgment committed to

them? 1 Corinthians 6:1-3, “Dare any of you, having a matter against

another, go to law before the unrighteous, and not before the saints?

Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if the world

will be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters?

Do you not know that we shall judge angels? How much more, things

that pertain to this life?”

 For the thousand-year Millennial Reign of Christ, the saints, His

bride, the church, will be ruling and reigning along with Jesus Christ!

(Joined by the Tribulation Saints, those that were martyred for their

faith, and the Old Testament saints.)

Revelation Chapter 20 Verses 5 – 6

 We read here of the “first resurrection,” with some of the dead not

being resurrected until the end of the Millennial Reign. The first

resurrection began with Jesus Christ. Jesus is spoken of as the First

Fruits of righteousness and the First Born over all of creation.

Colossians 1:15, “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn

over all creation.” Meaning, when He resurrected as fully man and

fully God, He was the first man to be resurrected unto eternal life in

perfect righteousness. So, the first resurrection began with Him.

 Then, Paul says at the point of the rapture, 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17,

“For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are

alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means

precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend

from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with

the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we

who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the

clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus, we shall always be with

the Lord.”

 Then, the first resurrection concludes with the Tribulation Saints as

we just read in Revelation 20. The church in its totality, the Bride of

Christ, is who is included in the first resurrection. Glorified new

bodies, ruling and reigning with Jesus. What does the glorified body

look like? It is the perfect and divine combination of physical and

spiritual. Something new. 2 Corinthians 5:1 says, “For we know that

if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from

God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” So, we

will be somehow physical (think Marriage supper of the Lamb), and

yet we will somehow be perfectly spiritual. I call it, SPYSICAL!!

 So, who’s left? Ok, we know that all of the Old Testament saints are

now, as in right now, with the Lord. We know that because we are

told that when Jesus died on the cross, He descended into the lower

parts of the earth and preached the gospel to those who were in

Paradise. Remember, Jesus said to the thief on the cross, “Today you

will be with Me in Paradise.” And yet Jesus did not ascend to the

Father as of yet. So, Paradise was somewhere else.

 A compartment (empty today) of Hades, a holding place of comfort

and waiting, Abraham’s Bay or Abraham’s Bosom as spoken of in

Luke 16. So, when Jesus died, Ephesians 4:8 tells us, “He led

captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.” So, He goes down to Hades,

Hades can’t hold Him because He is perfect, and He becomes the

Door for all that had died in faith, Old Testament believers, to

transition from Hades to Heaven, into the presence of the Father.

 At the time of the rapture, the dead in Christ rise first. They are the

first to get their glorified bodies along with all of those in the church

that have preceded the rapture in death. So, who’s left? There is the

remnant of Israel. Zechariah 13:8-9 says, “It shall come to pass in all

the land, says the Lord, that two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die,

but one-third shall be left in it. I will bring the one-third through the

fire, will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is

tested. They will call on My name and I will answer them. I will say,

‘This is My people,’ and each one will say, ‘The Lord is my God.’”

 So, we have the remnant of Israel, and they indeed live out their lives

alongside the church through the thousand years, but they don’t

receive (or I should say, may not receive) their glorified bodies until

the end of the Millennial Reign. Now, it could be that the first

resurrection contains all of these groups and many say that it does.

I’m about 50/50, because the first resurrection is the resurrection unto

eternal life while the second resurrection is generally unto

condemnation. Either way you read it is totally fine.

 Enough to say that there are indeed two resurrections. One that

concludes prior to the Millennial Reign of Christ and one that

happens at the end of the Millennial Reign of Christ. The one

happening at the end, the second resurrection is called in the Bible,

“The Second Death.” Where all those that had been in Hades, having

died in their sin of unbelief are brought to God, the righteous judge, to

be judged for their works.

 And therefore, blessed AND holy is he who has part in the first

resurrection!