Revelation

Revelation

Chapter 20
{Verses 1-3: Incarceration of Satan}
{Arresting Angelic Officer Marches to Arrest Satan}
1~~Then I saw an angel
{the officer of arms, college of heralds}
descending from heaven
{apparently from the Throne Room in heaven with the inherent
power of God - under orders to arrest Satan - see also Revelation
14:15}.
He had and held the key to the abyss/'bottomless pit' {abussos}
{this is the compartment of Sheol/Hades - see II Peter 2:4}
and a 'great chain'
{megas halusis - we would say a 'pair of giant handcuffs'/'large
shackles'}
in his hand.

{Note: When Satan was created, he was the 'elect cherub' - the most powerful creature ever created. By revolting, from his own 'work' he gained MORE. But by gaining more, he lost it all! After his revolt, God created the higher rank of Seraph. And, here we see another angel that can single handedly arrest the devil. This angel was promoted above Satan because he faithfully followed God's Purpose, Protocol, Policy and Plan.}

{Satan's Arrest and His Aliases are Given}
2~~And he {the officer of arms}
'seized with violence' {krateo}
{apparently Satan will put up a fight}
the dragon {drakon},
that ancient serpent
{see Genesis 3 for the serpent who deceived the Woman in the
Garden tricking her into sinning},
who is the Devil
{diabolos - means the 'false accuser'/slanderer
- Satan accuses believers in heaven today and
Jesus Christ is our defense attorney (Paraclete) in heaven - see
I John 1:8,10 etc.},
even Satan
{Satanas - means enemy/adversary - and the enemy of God - he
also is the:
1. Enemy of mankind in general - the original murder - John 8:44
2. Enemy of Bible Doctrine - Matthew 13:9,39
3. Enemy of the unbeliever - Luke 8:12
4. Enemy of the Church - Revelation 2:9,13,24
5. Enemy of Christ - Revelation 12:4
6. Enemy of Israel},
and bound him a thousand {chilioi} years {etos}
{so at this point, Satan is in the Abyss
while the two dictators are already in the Lake of Fire}.

{Note: RBT says that artists have deceived us forever. A 'Drakon' was the word for a beautiful translucent creature. Satan is said to have been the most beautiful creature God ever created. He has a voice like a pipe organ. He has a fantastic genius. This is not some ugly creature with a long tail and spits fire!}

{Note: In Isaiah 14:12, the KJV says Satan's original name was Lucifer, the Son of the Morning. But literally his correct name/title was 'the Morning Star . . . the Son of the Dawn'. This was a very high title. After he fell, Jesus in his Hypostatic Union was given the title of the Son of the Morning - very close in title. Passages on Satan include: Ezekiel 28:12-15, Isaiah 14:12-15}

3~~Then he {the officer of arms}
threw him {Satan} {vigorously/'with violence'}
into the abyss
{the fourth compartment of Sheol or Hades - a part of Tartarus
where the fallen angels of Genesis 6 are imprisoned}.
He both locked and sealed it over him,
for the purpose that {hina}
he should no longer deceive the nations
{implies that throughout human history, deceiving nations has been
part of the cosmic plan of Satan},
until the thousand years are completed.
And, after these things,
he {Satan} must be released
for a short/little time {chronos}.

{Verses 4-6: First Resurrection of Chapter 20
and Parenthetical Mention of Second Resurrection}
4-5~~Then I {John} saw the thrones
{John is beginning another eschatological vision},
and they sat on them
{RBT says this is the 1st reward given the Tribulational Martyrs},
and judgment was given to them.
Furthermore I {John} saw the souls of those
who had been decapitated because of the witness for Jesus . . .
really because of doctrine/Word from God,
even these {winners who are of such a category}
as absolutely do not {ouk} worship the beast {dictator},
nor his image,
and do not receive the mark on their foreheads
or on their hands
{which are the signs of agreeing to be part of the ecumenical
religious system}.
They both came to life
{zao - meaning the resurrection of the Tribulational Martyrs}
and ruled with Christ for a thousand years. 5~~
(the rest of the dead
{the unbelievers of the Tribulation plus all the unbelievers of
history}
absolutely did not {ouk} come to life {anazao}
{resurrection of the unbelievers}
until the thousand years had been completed)

This {resurrection of the Tribulational Martyrs}
is the first resurrection {anastasis}.

{Characteristics of this First Resurrection of Chapter 20}
6~~Happy/blessed {makarios}
and holy/'set-apart to God' {hagios} . . . {is}
he who has part in the first resurrection {anastasis}.
The second death does not have jurisdiction/authority {exousia}
over you,
but, in contrast,
they shall be priests of God and of Christ,
in fact, they shall rule {basileuo}
with Him a thousand years.

{Note: Makarios is the word from which the beatitudes are taken. The KJV translators did not know how to handle the plural use of makarios (happinesses) so they came up with 'blessed'. But the Greeks used it meaning happiness - or in the plural 'categories of happinesses'.}

{Verses 7-10: Mention of Satan's Release and on to the Last Revolution}
7~~Now when the thousand years had been completed {teleo},
Satan {Satanas} was released from his prison.

{Note: Interesting thing in this verse, is the use of 'Satanas' for Satan. Instead of using the transliteration from the Hebrew, John uses Satanas, which is an Aramaic word (looks similar but is different). RBT says this is because the idea is that Satan has now 'served his due' to society and now should be rehabilitated after 1000 years in prison. Satan will clear up that myth in the next verse.}

{After 1000 Year Perfect Reign of Christ - Dissatisfied Humans Revolt}
8~~Then he {Satan} will go out {exerchomai}
{2nd Advent of Satan - both times he comes to 'improve' perfect
environment - 1st time was in the Garden in Genesis 3}
'with the purpose to deceive' {planao - infinitive of purpose}
the nations
{Satan always uses his great genius to deceive humans to join him}
those in the four hemispheres/corners/quarters {gonia} of the earth Gog
{code name for Satan as the leader of revolution}
and Magog
{code name for the Anti-Christ followers in the revolution}
to concentrate/assemble {sunago} them for battle
{polemos - to fight and kill - to use violence to obtain their goals}
whose number is as the sand of the sea
{large number of humans will join in the revolt}.

9~~Then they marched/advanced
{anabaino - aggressive Greek verb}
over the 'wide terrain' {platos} of the land
{most likely the valley near Armageddon},
and surrounded the bivouac/'fortified camp' {parembole}
of the saints/'set-apart to God ones' {hagios},
and the beloved city {Jerusalem}.
Then fire came down {katabaino}
from heaven
{pur - fire - some kind of divine 'flame-thrower', nuclear attack,
or a laser weapon - the details really are not given - just the
principal here},
and devoured/consumed/destroyed {katesthio} them.

{Note: Just as with the 2nd Advent, Jesus needs no help! He destroys Satan and his forces single handedly.}

10~~And the enemy/devil {diabolos}
who had deceived them
was thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur . . .
where the beast
{the dictator of the revived Roman empire}
and the false prophet
{false messiah and dictator of Israel} {are located} . . .
and they will be tormented/tortured {basanizo}
day and night . . . forever and ever {eis aion aion}.

{Verses 11-15: The Last Judgment - The Great White Throne Judgment}

{The Second Courtroom}
11~~Then I {John} saw
{another eschatological vision of the Apostle}
the great
{megas - emphasizes the greatness of the Judge - Jesus Christ in
Hypostatic Union}
white
{leukos - emphasizes the integrity of the Judge - His infinite and
eternal Holiness}
throne
{thronos - emphasizes that no unbelievers possess the perfect
righteousness of God that is imputed to believers at the point of
salvation - so God's Justice becomes involved now that time is
ending},
and He Who was sitting on it
{ Jesus Christ as Judge for Eternity},
from Whose presence {prosopon}
the earth and heaven 'have vanished'/disappeared {pheugo}
{reference to the destruction of the earth and then all the current
universe the actual destruction of the universe and the creation
of the new universe is the subject of the next chapter - this verse
sets the order of the events},
and absolutely no {ouk} 'inhabited place' {topos}
was found for them.

{Note: The first courtroom was the cross. It resolved the problem of sin for anyone who will believe in Him. See book of Romans on the principal of Justification - that explains the need for the courtroom. See also II Peter 3:5.}

{2nd Resurrection for Unbelievers Only - Two Witnesses}
12~~Then I {John} saw the dead {unbelievers},
insignificant/small
{mikros - in human accomplishments from human energy}
and great
{megas - also in human accomplishments from human energy},
standing before the throne
{Judgment Bar of Supreme Court of Heaven - Great White Throne
Judgment}.
And the books
{biblion - plural - first the book of life, then books of works}
were opened.
And another of the same kind of {allos} book was opened . . .
which keeps on being . . . {the book of} life.
And the dead were judged out of those things
which were written into the books
{first unbeliever's name was blotted out of book of life
and then their works listed in the book of works is the second
judicial witness},
according to their works {ergon}.
[see also I Corinthians 3:13 for more on ergon being either
Divine Good production or human works]

{Note: Two witnesses/'types of evidence': 1st witness is the book of life. At the point human/soul life is imputed into a human by God (birth), his/her name is written into the book of life. But your name is blotted out if you have not accepted Christ's work on the cross for your salvation.

The 2nd witness was 'book of works' and all of your works are reviewed and added up. However, we know that your works will fall short of what is required to earn your salvation. For salvation is a GIFT of God, not of works, lest any one should boast. Jesus Christ was judged for our sins and all you have to do is the non-meritorious act of accepting His work on the cross for your salvation - and you are saved and in Union with Him. You can NOT work for your salvation.}

{Mechanics of the Arraignment and Indictment}
13~~Then the sea/'universal flood' {thalassa}
gave up the dead those in it {the Nephilim of Genesis 6}.
Also death and Hades gave up the dead
those in them
{these are the unbeliever humans imprisoned in the
Torments section of Hades here}.
Then they were judged
each one {individually - all stand alone in Judgment}
according to their works.

{Note: RBT says 'the sea' is a reference taken from the flood waters of the universal floods. This is really like the 'gates of the Abyss' and the 'gates of Hades'. The Nephilim of Genesis 6 were not alive when the other angels revolted against God and were not part of their judgment. But as half-angel, they cannot go through the sea gates into Hades, which is the prison for human unbelievers, or into Tartarus/ Abyss said to be the prison for angelic creatures. So these Nephilim apparently are stuck in the sea gates mentioned in Job 38:8 and are now judged along with human unbelievers.}

{Perfectly Righteous Judgment}
14~~Then death
{the physical death of the unbeliever}
even Hades
{temporary location of unbeliever's soul after physical death}
were thrown into the lake of fire
{arraignment, evidence and execution - indication of end of the
trial}.
This {execution of the Divine Sentence in the lake of fire}
is the second death.

{Punishment Fits the Crime}
15~~And if - and it is true
{ei tis - first class conditional if -
unbeliever's names are blotted out} -
anyone absolutely was not {ouk} discovered/found
registered/written in the book of life
{biblos zoe - first category of evidence - not believers}
he was thrown into the lake of fire
{the everlasting prison designed for Satan and his fallen angels}.

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