The thousand years is the length of time from that binding until Satan’s complete overthrow. We are reminded of his seduction of Eve (for he is called “the ancient serpent”), and his having been bound by Christ’s actions which limited his power and assured Christ’s ultimate conquest. In this passage Satan the First Enemy is overthrown. For four days, we will read the last chapters of Revelation, which also consummate the entire Bible.
The book is written in mystical language, so its message is not straightforward - nonetheless, with a little familiarity with history, knowledge of the Old Testament, and understanding of ancient Jewish numerology, its message can be prized from its pages. Its theme is that, though Christians will suffer in this life, the ultimate and eternal triumph is to be theirs, and the blessings which God has in store are so wonderful that we cannot imagine them. This is unfortunate since its message is one of the most glorious of any of the books of the Bible. 10And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur, where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.īecause of its strange and unfamiliar symbolism, many people either derive bizarre conclusions from the book of Revelation or are deterred from reading it altogether. And fire came down from heaven and consumed them. 9They marched up over the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. Over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.ħ When the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison 8and will come out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, in order to gather them for battle they are as numerous as the sands of the sea. 6Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. 5(The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
They had not worshipped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and for the word of God. After that he must be let out for a little while.Ĥ Then I saw thrones, and those seated on them were given authority to judge. 2He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3and threw him into the pit, and locked and sealed it over him, so that he would deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years were ended. 1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain.
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