LESSON SIXTEEN. CHAPTERS 19-20
The Judgment of Authorities
In these two chapters our attention is drawn to the establishment of new authorities representing the new King, while the rebel authorities of the old kingdom are judged and removed. We see heaven celebrating the righteous judgment of the "harlot" (great city) and marriage-readiness of the "bride" (holy city), while the new King personally executes the usurper Beast and his authorities. We see the resurrected saints, enthroned and reigning with Christ, after Satan is imprisoned in the abyss. There is a new King, and new authorities representing the King in an environment free of Satan's deception.
In chapter 20 we see that final judgment of all vestiges of the old kingdom requires a thousand-year reign of Christ and the resurrected saints. This reign of resurrected saints with Christ, over mortals who survive the tribulation, will demonstrate that neither Satan (who is imprisoned), nor bad government (which no longer exists), are responsible for man's sinful condition. The rebellion of the fall is still resident in the hearts of mortal men even after the 1000 years of Christ's rule (20:7-10), demonstrating that sin does not pass away with time.
19 After these things I heard as it were a great voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, Hallelujah; Salvation, and glory, and power, belong to our God: 2 for true and righteous are his judgments; for he has judged the great harlot, her that corrupted the earth with her fornication, and he has avenged the blood of his servants at her hand. 3 And a second time they say, Hallelujah. And her smoke goes up forever and ever. 4 And the four and twenty elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshipped God that sits on the throne, saying, Amen; Hallelujah.
5 And a voice came forth from the throne, saying, Give praise to our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, the small and the great. 6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunders, saying, Hallelujah: for the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and be exceeding glad, and let us give the glory to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife has made herself ready. 8 And it was given to her that she should array herself in fine linen, bright and pure: for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 And he says to me, Write, Blessed are they who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he says to me, These are true words of God. 10 And I fell down before his feet to worship him. And he says to me, See you do it not: I am a fellow-servant with you and with your brethren that hold the testimony of Jesus: worship God; for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
11 And I saw the heaven opened; and behold, a white horse, and he who sat thereon called Faithful and True; and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 And his eyes are a flame of fire, and upon his head are many diadems; and he has a name written which no one knows but he himself. 13 And he is dressed in a garment sprinkled with blood: and his name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies which are in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and pure. 15 And out of his mouth proceeds a sharp sword, that with it he should strike the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treads the winepress of the fierceness of the wrath of God, the Almighty. 16 And he has on his garment and on his thigh a name written, KINGS OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS. 17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the birds that fly in mid heaven, Come and be gathered together to the great supper of God; 18 that you may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses and of those who sit thereon, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, and small and great. 19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him who sat upon the horse, and against his army. 20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that worked the signs in his sight, with which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshipped his image: they two were cast alive into the lake of fire that burns with brimstone: 21 and the rest were killed with the sword of him who sat upon the horse, even the sword which came forth out of his mouth: and all the birds were filled with their flesh.
The Worship.
John's attention is first captured by voices raised in worship. God is being worshipped because He has judged the murderous, corrupting, immoral harlot. His righteous judgment is recognized as the proper response to those who had shed the blood of His bond-servants. The voice of the multitude is raised in a second crescendo saying, "Hallelujah! Her smoke rises up forever and ever." This is not a comment about eternal suffering in the lake of fire (at this point) because that is yet to come (20:11-15).178 "Her smoke," the fact of her judgment, appears to present an eternal monument of God's justice. This language may also celebrate the fact that the institution of the great city is permanently judged, never to rise again. There is no question here about the goodness of God in the context of judgment.
The worship continues as attention is turned away from the judgment of the harlot to the Lamb's legitimate bride. The worship focuses on the readiness and clothing of the bride. The worshippers comment, "His bride has made herself ready..." and "...it was given to her to clothe herself in fine linen...the righteous acts of the saints." What we do as Christians is to be our clothing when we meet the Lord. He planted the seed of His Word in our lost bodies that He might see us produce fruit (Lk. 8:4-15). We were "created in Christ Jesus for good works...that we should walk in them (Eph. 2:10). The "...grace of God...[brought]...salvation..." so that we might "...live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age..." (Titus 2:11-12). We are to manifest, "...work out (outward) our salvation, ...for God is at work..." in us (Phil. 2:12-13).
The doctrine of grace and power of the Holy Spirit are in no way diminished when the righteous acts of redeemed saints are observed. When we notice the righteous acts of those who, apart from the work the Holy Spirit, were formerly unable to please God, we are observing the trophies of God's grace, the triumph of the Holy Spirit. (Righteous acts do not result in salvation, but our salvation certainly results in righteous acts.) Salvation is all about changed lives, not "hell insurance."
Any teaching that leads saints to believe that their acts are unimportant, promotes a naked bride at the marriage of the Lamb.
Following the heavenly worship scene John falls down at the feet of an angel to worship him. But the angel corrects John with a reminder that he is a fellow servant of those "...who hold the testimony of Jesus..." (19:10). The angel focuses John on the message of the book, "worship God!" Nearly the same scene will be repeated later (22:9). The message for us is clear: God is the only One before whom we should fall down and worship. He alone is the Creator, Redeemer, Provider, King, Sanctifier, Deliverer and Judge.
The Glorious King.
John now sees "heaven opened." What John sees is a new and unique scene. The white horse is, as in chapter 6, portraying the movement of righteousness. The One riding, followed by the righteous armies of heaven, is none other than the Lord, portrayed with several names/descriptors. This scene does not portray the arrival of the Lord.179 Instead we are being informed about truth and activities that attend the Lord who is already present.180
Faithful and True.181
The idea here is of one who accurately represents the standard measure of right and wrong. Thus he righteously judges and wages war.
Eyes like a flame of fire.
As in chapter 1 we understand this to mean perfect discernment in the application of the righteous standard. He sees the facts in right relationship.
Many crowns upon His head.
These are the crowns of royalty (not the victor's wreath as in other contexts). We are to understand that He possesses all authority, unlike the seven heads or ten horns of the beast upon whose individual heads rested single crowns.
Name written no one knows except Himself.
Only God can comprehend God. This is probably best understood as a reference to the name of God, Exodus 3:14.
Clothed in a robe dipped in blood.
Most commentators see here a realization of Isaiah 63:1-6. However the reference may be to His own blood, portraying His sacrifice, that which is characteristic of who He is. This understands clothing as descriptive of the individual (as in other contexts of Revelation), and is here consistent with the series of other descriptive phrases.
Name is called The Word of God.
We are reminded here of John 1:1, 14, 18. He is the expression and explanation of God. To the one who says, "show me God!", this one is the answer (John 14:8).
Followed by heaven's righteous armies.
He is the leader of the righteous of heaven. These righteous ones appear to be the saints. (We see here a contrast between those of heaven who follow Him and those on earth who are ruled by Him, v. 15.)
Righteous rule of the nations.
His rule of the nations allows no room for sin. The picture of (1) a sword from His mouth, (2) a rod of iron in His hand and (3) treading the wine press of God's fierce wrath communicates righteous rule confronting and controlling sinful intentions. This is a picture of the righteous rule that will characterize the millennial reign of Christ.
King of kings and Lord of lords.
This is the name "on His robe and on His thigh." One's robe speaks about station or office. "Thigh" may designate strength or activity.
The emphasis is upon the fact that the One described here, the One with all the preceding qualifications, is the standard of all authority.
The King defeats the enemy authorities.
Without a battle the enemy authorities are defeated. In an awesome display of the King's control, predatory birds are first assembled and prepared to eat the enemy which will certainly be killed. John then simply records that the beast and false prophet are seized from the assembled enemies and thrown into the lake of fire. The rest of the assembled enemy is killed by the Word of God, "...with the sword which came from the mouth of..." the Lord. The dead bodies of the enemy are then consumed by the assembled birds, leaving no grave, monument or memory of those who opposed the Lord.182
We should take special note that the Word, the sword which comes from His mouth, is that by which the Lord "smites the nations" and kills His enemies. The beast gathers his army by unclean lying spirits from out of his mouth, but his army is defeated. The power of the One who is the Truth (John 14:6), is graphically demonstrated here. Both the Truth and the deceiver have the power to gather an army, but only the Truth will prevail.
20 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and cast him into the abyss, and shut it , and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years should be finished: after this he must be released for a little time. 4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given to them: and I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as worshipped not the beast, neither his image, and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years should be finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection: over these the second death has no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. 7 And when the thousand years are finished, Satan shall be released out of his prison, 8 and shall come forth to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to the war: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9 And they went up over the breadth of the earth, and surrounded the camp of the saints, and the beloved city: and fire came down out of heaven, and devoured them. 10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where are also the beast and the false prophet; and they shall be tormented day and night forever and ever.
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him who sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne; and books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead that were in it; and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if any was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire.
Chapter 20. Satan bound for 1,000 years.
John now sees Satan bound and cast into the abyss by an angel from heaven. The purpose of this incarceration is "so that he should not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed." Some, beginning in the fourth century with Saint Augustine, believe that this 1,000 year period or "millennium" is a description of the church age following Christ's resurrection. Their arguments are interesting, but do not account for:
(1) the order of the book of Revelation and the present context which follows the second coming of the Lord, and quite logically shows the systematic judgment of competing authorities,
(2) the fact that the church age has already lasted more than 1,000 years,
(3) the fact that the church is warned about Satan's continuing activities,183
(4) the fact that Satan is not defeated and cast out of heaven until the beginning of the tribulation (Rev. 12),
(5) the fact that the "short time" following the 1,000 years cannot be the same as the great tribulation because when Satan is finally defeated (after being released) he is cast into the lake of fire "where the beast and the false prophet are also" (20:7-10).
(6) the fact that the present age demonstrates the reign of sinful mankind (with multiple terrible atrocities)
rather than the reign of Christ with His saints.
the fact that the millennium begins with the bodily resurrection of martyred saints.
[These are just a few of the reasons why the amillennial position appears to be in error.]
The reign of the saints during the 1,000 years.
John now sees that saints reign with Christ while Satan is bound. Since the text is silent here regarding God's reason for this period of time, we are left to informed speculation based on other passages of Scripture.
In the apostle Paul's first letter to the church at Corinth, in the process of defending the fact of the resurrection, he points to a period of Christ's reign which falls between the second coming and the eternal state. He writes, "For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet...And when all things are subjected to Him, then the Son Himself also will be subjected to the One who subjected all things to Him, that God may be all in all" (1 Cor. 15:25, 28). Clearly the millennium involves (as noted in the introduction to this section) the judgment and removal of enemy authorities. Christ's reign with a "rod of iron" was foreseen in the message to Thyatira (2:26-27), noted as a feature of the Son (12:5) and described in His conquest of the beast (19:15).
Resurrected saints reign with Christ.
John describes those who are given judgment and seated on thrones. His words call our attention to the fact that these saints are (1) those who had been martyred, (2) and those who had not done the things that constituted worship of the beast or his image. John's description is of all saints, not an exclusive group of martyrs, as some have suggested here.
The first resurrection.
Those who live and reign with Christ are also described as "the first resurrection." Paul had taught the church that the first resurrection included all saints, (not a select group).184 John notifies us that the "second death" has no power over those of the first resurrection. This notification is consistent with what the Lord Jesus taught His disciples concerning all those who believed in Him. He said, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life." All true saints are by definition excluded from the later judgment of "the dead" at the great white throne (20:11-15), and are those of the "first resurrection."
Satan released to deceive the nations.
Following the 1,000 year reign of the saints with Christ, Satan is released from the abyss to "come out to deceive the nations" and "gather them together for the war." We were notified earlier (v. 3) that this is for a short time.
The contingent gathered around the holy city is "like the sand of the sea" from "the four corners of the earth." Without detail we are simply notified that these hostile followers of Satan are devoured by fire that comes down out of heaven.
A few conclusions are suggested by this brief account:
Mortals of the nations live on the earth during the millennium with the resurrected saints.
The righteous rule of Christ and the saints, the absence of Satan's deception, and a long period of time does not drive out the sin nature from the hearts of mortal men.
The reigning resurrected saints appear vulnerable and subject to conquest. Their demeanor during their reign has not caused mortals to conclude that they are immune from the war suggested by Satan.
With the defeat of the rebel nations Satan is thrown into the lake of fire where he joins the beast and the false prophet. Together they are tortured "day and night forever and ever." Unlike those who will later also be cast into the lake of fire following judgment, Satan is cast into the lake of fire without any notice of judgment or consulting of "books."
Judgment at the Great White Throne.
With Satan gone, the "dead" are now judged. This is not a judgment where some are found to be good and others are bad. This is apparent from the following facts:
These are facing the "second death" and have "come into judgment," conditions which saints will not face (John 5:24, Rev. 2:11; 20:6).
Only one disposition is mentioned at this judgment, "the second death, the lake of fire." (Nothing is mentioned here about some being found righteous and being ushered into eternal bliss.)
This passage is meant to present a contrast with the previous picture of saints who reign with Christ. The faithful saints were resurrected to live and reign with their King (20:4-6), while the unrighteous dead are judged to join their "king" in the lake of fire (20:11-15).
The phrase, "and no place was found for them," in the introduction of this passage (v. 11), paints a picture of the ultimate disposition of the unrighteous in relation to the face of God. "Heaven and earth" are simply terms that summarily describe all the unrighteous of heaven and earth.185 This phrase would not be expected in a scene where saints are about to be recognized as such. These words are in stark contrast to those of the Lord Jesus to His disciples, "...I go to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2).
A set of books, and one particular book, are opened for this judgment. This distinction between the books of deeds and book of life is significant. By this distinction we are made aware that life is granted on some basis other than deeds.186 The set of books is the record of each man's deeds. In them are the records from which men are "judged." The deeds here apparently establish the basis of condemnation and need for life. Life is not a function of these records of deeds. Life is a function of a different record, the book of life. When men are cast into the lake of fire it is because their deeds entitled them to death, and no provision for deliverance was recorded for them in the book of life.
The Judgment Seat of Christ
A question quite often arises at this point concerning the judgment seat of Christ mentioned by the apostle Paul in 2 Corinthians 5:10. When is the judgment of saints if not at the great white throne of Revelation 20? The answer to this question is that the judgment of Christians apparently takes place when Christ is first present with His angels at the seventh trumpet (11:18). John writes that the time came, to give their reward to your servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to those who fear your name, the small and the great . Although a detailed picture of such a judgment is not presented in the book of Revelation, Jesus had referred to the fact that Christians of the church would be dealt with appropriately when He returned. Notice again the language of chapters two and three. There the Lord Jesus speaks about the consequences and rewards that will result when He comes. It seems apparent from the fact that Christians are reigning with Christ during the millennium that any judgment of their deeds is already past.
Lesson Seventeen: The Holy City