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Satan
Is Bound A Thousand Years
Revelation Twenty
Revelation Twenty provides the picture that we have
waited for. Satan is bound. A strong angel is able to bind Satan
for a thousand years, and lock him in a bottomless pit. "And I saw an angel
come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain
in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the
Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the
bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should
deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and
after that he must be loosed a little season." (Revelation 20:1-3)
In Revelation nineteen the
enemies of God were defeated. Now we see the defeat of Satan himself. He is
defeated by the word of God. The Christians that had been killed for the cause
of Christ were still living and reigning with the Lord. They are called priests
of God and of Christ, and they reign with Him a thousand years. This
thousand-year reign with Christ is in heaven, not on the earth.
Satan is allowed a period of
freedom to deceive the nations. The figure is that of Gog and Magog from Ezekiel 38-39. God and Magog
represent forces of evil thrown against the
The last verses of Revelation
chapter twenty consider the final judgment of the wicked. Both the righteous
and the wicked will be present at this judgment but only the wicked are
considered in this section. At Judgment all that are not found in the book of
life are cast into the lake of fire.
Satan is bound
– Revelation 20:1-3: Revelation
twenty provides a look at the final judgment. We observe that Satan falls and
that the people of God enjoy victory. The theme of the book of
Revelation
could easily be "the victory of the saints." We have already observed
the fall of the
The first thing that we observe
about Satan is that he is bound a thousand years in order that he will not
deceive the nations. After this time he is given a period of freedom. Satan is
still active during this entire period only a part of his power is limited. He
is unable to deceive the nations. The devil had deceived the nations with
emperor worship. God limited that power of deception for a period of time. However,
we must remember that the devil is not finished and he will make a final effort
to destroy the people of God.
Saints of God reign –
Revelation 20:4-6: God gives great comfort to His people by showing
that the departed saints will reign with Him.
"And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto
them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus,
and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his
image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands;
and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the
dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first
resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection:
on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of
Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years." (Revelation 20:4-6)
Some simple information will
help us understand this reign. First, the reign was not on earth. It is in
heaven with Christ. Second, those that reigned had already left the earth. They
had been beheaded. Third, their reign was that of living and reigning with
Christ. This was the first resurrection. Fourth, these that are
reigning are the souls of those that had died faithful. They did not have the
mark of the beast. Over these the second death has no power. The rest of the
dead went to torment to await the final judgment. (Luke 16:19-31) Those that
missed the first resurrection will face the second death.
The thousand years is a
complete period of time. Only Jesus, His death and the word of God bind the
devil. The souls had been under the altar, now they are on the throne. Satan is
bound.
Satan is loosed –
Revelation 20:7-10: There is a time when Satan is again given power to
deceive the nations. The figure of Gog and Magog is from Ezekiel 38-39. The lesson was that the
strongest forces Satan could throw against God people would not overcome the
faithful. Those who stay faithful can withstand Satan’s strongest efforts.
Gog
and Magog was a picture of God being able to
sanctify Himself. He used this illustration to teach
Sinners face
their destiny – Revelation 20:11-15: These few verses provide a brief glimpse into the final state of the
wicked. They will stand before the throne of God to be judged by the things
written in the books. The fact that they were not found written
in the book of life caused them to be cast into the lake of fire. "And
whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of
fire." (Revelation 20:15)
The Bible forcefully
teaches that God will punish the wicked for their unbelief and disobedience. “It
is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Hebrews 10:31)
Hell is terrible because it is a place of torments.
All will stand before the great white throne to give
account to God. Every man will be judged according to his works. We will be
judged as individuals, not as a group. God will punish the wicked for unbelief
and disobedience. "And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but
the righteous into eternal life." (Matthew 25:46) Hell is a terrible place
of outer darkness where there is weeping and
gnashing of teeth. (Matthew 13:42) Please
do not wait too late to learn the meaning and the horrors of Hell. "And
the smoke of their torment ascends forever and ever; and they have no rest day
or night..." (Revelation 14:11)
The horrible punishment
awaiting the wicked should move us to obey the gospel quickly. To obey the
gospel one must hear God's truth (John
- - - - Charles Box
News & Notes
1. Prayer List:
2. Remember To Pray:
Alan Jackson needs our prayers as he serves in
3. A House Fire: Howard and
Peggy Lofton, parents of Jeannie Jackson had a house fire and lost everything.
Also living in the same house were Jeannie’s brother and sister-in-law.
Anything you can do to help is appreciated. A list is on the bulletin board of
cloth sizes.
4. Web Site: Our new web
address is: www.walnutstreetchurchofchrist.org. Updates are frequently being
made, so visit it often.
5. Weekly Budget For 2006:
Our Elders announced that our budget for 2006 is $6,117.87 per week. God
blesses us richly. Let us give generously!
6. Birthdays: Celebrating
birthdays this week are: February 26th Deborah
Lewis, February 27th Ken Smith, February 28th Betty
Ann Harrell and Larry Lucas, March 3rd Emily Harrell,
and March
4th Marty Sexton.
7. Wonderful Host: A special
thank you to
8. Thank You: (a) Dear Christian Family, I just wanted to take a moment to thank
all of you for your care and concern, cards, visits, and especially all your
prayers during our time of sickness. A few of you sent food,
and others some advice and good ole home remedies. It was all greatly
appreciated. We are glad to be feeling better and most of all glad to be back
here at
9. Area Events: (a) March 6th-9th
–
10.
11. Soul Winning: God’s
people must focus on the matter of winning the lost. Are you teaching others?
There’s
Everyone
who honestly examines God’s word will agree that sexual activity outside of
marriage is wrong and sinful. Paul wrote, “Flee from sexual
immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside
the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body” (I Cor
Is Pornography
an acceptable “alternative” to sexual immorality? Some say that since viewing
images of others doesn’t amount to sinning “against the body,” it is ok. But
the lustful thoughts that vulgar images evoke are wrong. Jesus said, “…that everyone who looks at a
woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart”
(Mt
Does deep love
for another person make sexual immorality moral? The world says that you should
never “sleep with” anyone until you’re sure you love them. Is this what the
Bible says? Paul’s answer to this deep
love and desire is, “But because of the temptation to sexual
immorality, each man should have his own wife and each
woman her own husband” (I Cor 7:2). Sex
is ONLY for those who have committed to each other in marriage (Heb 13:4).
What about those who are engaged to be married? Many people who know it is wrong to commit fornication fall victim to the temptation once they “know they are going to marry” the person. To this I simply encourage you, if you love your husband or wife-to-be, don’t defile them and yourself because of sinful desires. “For this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you abstain from sexual immorality” (I Thess 4:3). There is no right way to be sexually immoral.
- - - - Darrell Powell
How can you truly believe in God and not serve Him faithfully?
Don’t just own a Bible; read it!
(334-382-3001)