Revelation 20:1-10

(Revelation 20:1-10)

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. 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.  And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,  And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.  And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

 

Following chapter 19, the Bible continues to state about Christ's final victory. The last great battle between good and evil takes place. In the previous chapter 19, two beasts are thrown alive into a brimstone pond. This triumph of Christ is accomplished only by the word of Christ, without any military help from men. Eventually the beasts and false prophets perish. Now in chapter 20, the Apostle John writes about the end of the final adversary who deceived all nations, which are the dragon, the old serpent, the devil, and Satan.

 

John sees an angel coming down from heaven with the keys of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. The angel seizes Satan, binds it with chains, throws it into the abyss for a thousand years, and locks it. During this period, the spirits of those who were martyred come to life and reign with Christ for a thousand years. After a thousand years, Satan is released for a while. The reason for this is not revealed in the text but remains a secret.

 

Satan, released again, continues to deceive all nations and stirs up Gog and Magok. Gog and Magok are not specific nations, but united world powers against God, because their numbers are said to be like the sand of the sea. When they besieged the camps of the saints and the city they love and are in a desperate situation, fire comes down from heaven and burns Gog, Magog, and his army. After their defeat, Satan and the devil are captured again and thrown into the lake of fire. There Satan, the beast, and the false prophet will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. Satan's reign is now completely and absolutely over, and his world ends forever.

 

The only mention of the Millennium Kingdom appears in Chapter 20. For a long time there have been various interpretations of the millennial kingdom within the church. Each of these interpretations poses a number of difficulties, because this is what will happen in the future and that only God can know clearly. No one can say exactly what kind of process the end of history will go through. However, you can accurately answer the ending. That is, Jesus Christ will surely come again as promised.

 

Also, it is the fact that those who believe in Jesus Christ will participate in Christ's victory, and that Satan will be finally judged. In addition, by showing how Satan will receive eternal punishment, it gives great comfort and hope to the saints in tribulation.

 

This fact is the basis for "to keep the saints upright without being discouraged or stumbled even in the midst of evil as long as evil is transverse and truth is trampled helplessly and evil is victorious." In addition, it becomes a force that makes the saints stand against evil with truth rather than defeating evil. Living against the world is by no means easy. It means that sometimes you have to be resentful for not riding on the bandwagon, and you have to be willing to choose to lose money in order to live according to the Word.

 

Above all, believers must constantly confront unrighteous evils and confront them without compromise. This also means a life in which you face difficulties because of opposition, but rather suffer more criticism and suffering.

 

When it comes to interpretation of the Millennium Kingdom, there have been many understandings throughout the history of the church, and today it is recognized as the most controversial topic of eschatology in the evangelical camp. In other words, there have been various opinions about whether Christ's Second Coming will be before the literal millennium kingdom, in the future, or whether the millennium should be accepted only in a symbolic meaning, and these are called pre-millennialism, post-millennialism, and non-millennialism. have. In general, it is believed that the pre-millennial theory gained strength during the first centuries of the early church, the non-millennial theory for a long time after Augustine in the 5th century, and the later millennium theory after the Reformation.

 

There are two forms of pre-millennialism: historical pre-millennialism and dispensational pre-millennialism. The gap between them is quite large to see them as one large spectrum as a whole, and there is even a break in communication between denominations and evangelicals. In addition, we need to face the fact that today many heresies and cults are linked to unsound eschatology, compared to the early Christian society where a lot of heresy occurred mainly in terms of Christianity. The societal and ecclesial repercussions caused by problematic eschatology have been one of the reasons that the teachings and discussions on eschatology in the church and theology have been greatly reduced. However, we are very concerned that a weakened eschatology may eventually lead to more unhealthy eschatology.

 

Unlike pre-dispensationalism, pre-millennialism is different from pre-millennialism, and Christ returns after the tribulation. Also, unlike dispensationalism, historical pre-millennialism does not distinguish between the air and earthly Second Coming of Christ, and understands the two events as single events. The saints are raptured at Christ's Second Coming in the air, welcome Christ, and immediately return to earth with Christ to reign for a thousand years.

 

The order of the end events is that when the Second Coming of Christ is near, the Antichrist appears, and great difficulties arise for the saints (apocalypse, great tribulation). When the great tribulation begins, the body of the saints on this earth suddenly disappears (rapture), and the resurrected spirit body accepts Christ in the air, and after the tribulation ends, the saints who were in the state of spirit in heaven after death are also resurrected. With Christ as a spirit body, he reigns over the earth. And Satan is trapped in the abyss by Christ (Satan's Binding).
Satan, the source of sin, is bound and peace and justice are established on this earth through the reign of Christ (the millennium kingdom).

 

The Lord clearly identifies through the Millennium Kingdom that the source of sin is Satan. After Satan is briefly released at the end of the Millennium, Satan deceives those who are ruled in this world and opposes the kingdom of Christ. (The war between Gok and Magog). Satan is bound again and thrown into eternal judgment (Satan's destruction), and following the resurrection for judgment, the wicked are in pain on this earth (resurrection and great judgment of the wicked). Those who receive will enter the eternal new heaven and new earth (new heaven and new earth).

 

When does the rapture take place? There has been controversy over whether it was before the Great Tribulation, the middle, or the end of the Great Tribulation. The 7-year great tribulation is God's last tribulation. In the Bible, there is no term for the 7-year Great Tribulation or the Last Tribulation, but there are many grounds. There are several theories about the final tribulation, but opinions are divided. In order to understand the Last Great Tribulation, we need to look closely at the flow from Genesis to Revelation. When we do not admit the fault of claiming to the end that those who have left God can achieve righteousness without God, we must think in terms of God's discipline.

 

At the time of Jesus, Israel made an effort to achieve God's righteousness based on the law, and they mistaken themselves as if they were all righteous. They do not fulfill God's will, and A.D. It was destroyed by Rome in the year 70. Israel was destroyed, but God promised to restore it. The promise does not refer to Israel, which became independent in 1948. It is the advent of the Messiah's kingdom (the Millennium Kingdom), which is said in the book of Revelation. In order for the Messianic Kingdom to come, two procedures must go through, until the number of Gentiles for salvation is reached and Israel's salvation through the Great Tribulation. The restoration of Israel is accomplished through the realization of the Messianic Kingdom at the Second Coming of Jesus.

 

It can be said that not only Israel, but also the church today, during the last tribulation. However, the tribulation in the Old Testament is about Israel, and the church is spoken through the book of Revelation. Not all churches can be seen as true churches. Therefore, both the church and Israel will realize God's will through the great tribulation and receive salvation like a sieve. In Matthew 24:20 there is a saying, "Pray that the day of trouble will not be on the winter or the Sabbath." It is a word that those who are in the law will understand and return to the law of the Holy Spirit. There is always rest in the law of the Spirit of life of Jesus Christ.

 

The word rapture means that it is lifted into the sky. It means that they are lifted up in the air without seeing death. The people who were raptured in the Old Testament were Enoch and Elijah. There is no word about how Enoch walked with God, but the only thing that is mentioned is Hebrews 11:5. He was the one who pleased God and by faith. In other words, he is a person who does God's will. God's will is to make you believe the words of His Son. The words of Jesus Christ are that God will forgive all the sins in the world for those who repent for leaving God, become new people after the old person dies, and return to God. Enoch, who pleased God, eventually realized that he had left God on his own and returned to God.