Devil

Thoughts on religion (Part 1): Satan’s purposes

OVERVIEW. An essay on religions. This article focuses on the purposes for which Satan has created religions.

“I must admit that I am doctrinally weak.” These were the words that Elisabeth said to me when I had mentioned that some of the beliefs of the Mormons were a bit strange. Elisabeth and I were dating at the time. She was a Mormon, having recently come into that group through her sister’s influence. Through a couple of Mormon “missionaries,” I was being exposed to this group’s teaching and found it pretty hard to believe. And so I made my comment to Elisabeth.

This anecdote serves as an introduction to a series of reflections I had recently about religions and about how these philosophes gain and then maintain their control over men and women. This article is a record of some of these reflections.

BASICS OF RELIGION

Before we get too far along, it will be helpful to establish some basics about religion. All religious systems are conceived by the prince of the demons and are brought into the world as Satan insinuates his ideas into the minds of sinful men.

THE PURPOSES OF RELIGION ARE TWO-FOLD. Since the fall in Genesis 3, when sin entered the world (Romans 5:12-14), all mankind has experienced two great problems from their sin: guilt and death. Religions are Satan’s response to these two great problems, because religions are intentionally designed to deceive people about their guilt from sin and to deceive people about death.

GUILT. One of the purposes of any religious system is to provide its adherents with a way to ignore their conscience so that their guilt is assuaged. Because all men have a conscience and because a complete copy of the Law is written on every man’s conscience (Romans 2:14-15), all people experience guilt every time they violate the moral Law of God. The only way to truly remove the guilt from your sin and to rid your conscience of its shame is by true repentance and by faith in the Lord Jesus. But religions are designed to provide a man-made counterfeit that pretends to remove guilt through man-made works and efforts or through man-made ideas with the result that the religious adherent is deceived into believing their guilt is no more.

DEATH. The second purpose of religious systems is to deceive their adherents regarding the nature of death.

When the LORD God commanded Adam not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, He warned the man with the most terrifying prohibition possible. The LORD God warned man by threatening death as the consequence of disobedience (Genesis 2:17). Death is the most severe threat man can experience. Thus, the threat of death should be the most terrifying threat to us.

But Satan is the deceiver of mankind. What the LORD God threatens for our good Satan twists so that we will be deceived. And so he said to the woman, “You surely will not die!” (Gen. 3:4). The talking snake convinced Eve that there was some wiggle room in what God had commanded. The snake was persuasive, so the woman was persuaded that the threat of death was not that bad. And, ever since, the serpent of old has been persuading fallen mankind that death is not really that bad and deceiving them that God does not really intend to destroy some of His creatures in the lake of fire. Religion is one of Satan’s primary tools for deceiving man about death.

OBSCURING CHRIST AND THE CROSS

To this point we have spoken of religion as Satan’s means of deceiving mankind about the peril of his situation before a holy God. When presenting the gospel to unbelievers, this explanation of religion as putting a veil over the realities of guilt (sin) and death can be a helpful introduction to proclaiming the atoning death of the Lord Jesus and how it solves our two great problems. So certainly, Satan has created religions for deception and distraction.

But there is an even more significant purpose for the invention of religious systems and philosophies. Satan’s primary purpose for religion is to obscure the cross of Jesus Christ and to remove the glory of the Lord Jesus. Consider 2 Cor. 4:3-4:

3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

Paul expressly teaches that “the god of this world” (Satan) has blinded the minds of unbelievers so that they cannot see the glory of Christ. Satan hates Christ and he hates the cross and therefore his primary goal is to bury Christ’s triumph on the cross in the deepest depths of Sheol. Religion, consisting in fallen man’s pathetic and futile efforts to achieve his own righteousness, is Satan’s primary means for obtaining this goal. So, religion in all its myriad forms is never a way to gauge your goodness but is, in fact, the primary way Satan blinds your mind and obscures the cross of Christ, which is the only way of salvation (Acts 4:12).

In a future post I will continue my musings about religion and will consider the effects of religion on fallen man. We will also consider ancient religions and “next gen religions.”

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 5/22/2025                 #717

The emptiness of Islam

POST OVERVIEW. A few years ago, a friend and I visited a mosque and had a cordial conversation with the imam there and a few adherents. Here are my impressions of that meeting (from my journal entry of that day).

We arrived at the mosque a little before the time for prayer ended and so were able to simply spectate for a few minutes. I had never been in a mosque and so was ignorant of how the “services” were conducted. It seemed to mostly consist of individual, silent prayer and reflection, which makes me hesitate to call it a worship service. Each person seemed to go through their prayers independent of others. At some point, the prayer time was concluded and the Muslims spread out a long tablecloth on the floor near the window, set plates on the tablecloth and ladled out generous portions of Middle Eastern food. Then they gestured to my friend and me to sit down on the carpeted floor so that we could join them in the meal.

My friend had been to the mosque before and had engaged the Muslims in dialog about Islam and Christianity. Although I was surprised at their willingness to dialog, it seemed that they expected our discussion to again be about matters of our respective religions. So, after some preliminary pleasantries, our discussion turned to various features of Islam and Christianity, picking up where the conversation had ended last time. And even though we came from very different points of view, our dialog never became heated or hostile. In fact, the Muslims seemed genuinely curious about the things that they heard from us.

In the course of our discussion, I was struck by the poverty of the theology in Islam. When we asked about forgiveness of sins, we received the reply, “Allah is merciful.” How does a Muslim get to heaven? “Allah is merciful.” If a person has been a good Muslim, can they be assured they will go to heaven? “Allah is merciful.” If a person has definitely not been a good Muslim, will Allah punish them? “Allah is merciful.” As I thought about that response, it occurred to me that Allah must be arbitrary and unpredictable if he gives the same response to the good and the bad alike.

In fact, based on this experience, Islam and the instructions of the Koran seemed shallow, inconsistent and illogical. The teaching was clumsy and scattered and would only be accepted by someone who was willingly self-deceived or by a person who had never read the Bible or heard any biblical preaching and so was ignorant of what truth was. There was no beauty, no elegance, no glory. There were no answers to the most basic of challenges. Ask a basic question about some aspect of Islam and your question will usually be met with a blank stare. To question or to think about any word from the imam or the Koran was not encouraged.

And thus it is with all man-made, Satan-designed religions. The beliefs and practices of these systems are crafted to ensnare the unsuspecting and the gullible and to trap them in a religion that requires them to constantly work and perform while promising them nothing. Their “holy books” are clumsy and, in many places, simply ridiculous. There is no cohesive doctrine. There is no definition of sin; in fact, in most religions there is rarely a mention of sin. There is no hero. There is no fall of man. There is no salvation. There is no warning to repent. There is no hell, so there is no salvation. There is no urgency, no eternal rest, no truth, no justice. There are no miracles; there is no resurrection; there is no worship. There is no forgiveness. There is no sacrifice. There is no conclusion, no hope, no peace, no grace. There is no Law. There is no righteousness. There is no glory. There is no point!

Ah, but in God’s holy Word and in the beauty and power of the Lord Jesus Christ there are all of these things and so many more. “For as many as are the promises of God, in Him (Christ) they are yes” (2 Cor. 1:20).

Since we have all the glorious promises of God to proclaim (1 Peter 2:9) and since we have been commissioned by the Lord Jesus Himself to be His witnesses (Acts 1:8), let’s be bold to tell those who are still in darkness of the joy and the forgiveness and the peace that is available to all those who will repent and believe in the Lord Jesus.

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 12/23/2024                 #714

Mark 3:27 – Who binds the strong man? (Rev. 20:1-3)

POST OVERVIEW. In Mark 3:27 (also Matt. 12:29), Jesus tells of first binding the strong man in order to plunder his house. In Rev. 20:1-3, we see a vision of an “angel” binding the dragon (the devil, the serpent of old, Satan – 20:2) in the abyss for the thousand years. This study compares these two and shows these are talking about the same thing.

In Mark 3:27, in response to the accusations of the scribes that He is casting out demons by the power of Satan, our Lord tells a parable about how to plunder the strong man’s house.

But no one can enter the strong man’s house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house. – Mark 3:27

THE MEANING OF THE PARABLE

As a reminder, we know that a parable is a story from everyday life that pictures a spiritual reality. Thus parables need to be interpreted to understand their real meaning.

In the context, the meaning of this parable is quite clear. The “strong man” is Satan, “his house” represents those who are currently in the kingdom of darkness, the one who will plunder the strong man’s house (“he”) is the Lord Jesus, and “plundering his house” means “rescuing us from the domain of darkness and transferring us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:13-14). In other words, Jesus is declaring that, rather than using the power of Satan (Mark 3:22), His mission is to ruin Satan and to plunder from Satan’s house all those who belong to Him. (See 1 John 3:8b.)

Now the question I want to ask is, “What does Jesus do just before He plunders Satan’s house?” The answer is apparent – He first binds Satan. Jesus first neutralizes Satan and effectively takes him off the playing field. Then Satan must watch helplessly as those who were in his camp are plundered away and joyfully swear allegiance to Jesus. This is what Jesus is here describing in this parable.

Having understood the meaning of this parable, we will now turn our attention to another passage that is similar to Mark 3:27. In Revelation 20:1-3, we read of an angel who binds Satan in the abyss for the thousand years.

1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. – Revelation 20:1-3

As a reminder, we know that Revelation is a book of the genre of biblical prophecy, where the elements of the visions have figurative and symbolic meaning. As a result, the visions must be interpreted carefully to understand their real meaning.

SIMILARITIES AND INTERPRETATION

Before we begin to interpret this vision, we should notice the obvious similarity between this vision in Revelation 20 and the parable in Mark 3. In both cases, we see Satan (“the dragon” and “the strong man”) being bound. It is significant that, in both cases, the original Greek for bind/bound is a form of the Greek verb δέω. This is a strong clue.

In Mark 3:27, we see Jesus binding Satan (“he” binds “the strong man”), while in Rev. 20:2, we see an angel binding Satan. This seems to be a dissimilarity until we realize that “the angel” in Rev. 20 represents the risen Lord Jesus. (Elsewhere I have shown that the “angel” in Rev. 20:1-3 is certainly the risen Lord Jesus. See Post #567, 9/9/2022.) So, at this point in our interpretation, we see that both the parable and the vision picture Jesus binding Satan.

THE PURPOSE OF BINDING SATAN

We will now explore the purpose for which Jesus binds Satan in each case. In Mark 3:27, Jesus binds Satan in order to rescue His own from the kingdom of darkness (see above). In other words, Jesus binds Satan so that He can save His chosen ones. We should note that this parable does not indicate when this will take place, it simply indicates that it will take place. Jesus will bind “the strong man” Satan, then He will plunder his house.

In Rev. 20:3 we read that Satan is bound in the abyss for the thousand years “so that (Greek ἵνα) he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed.” To understand the purpose of this binding of Satan, we need to interpret what is meant by “not deceive the nations any longer.”

NOT DECEIVE THE NATIONS ANY LONGER (REV. 20:3). The first thing we note is that “the nations” (τὰ ἔθνη) in Rev. 20:3 refers to the Gentile nations. In Matthew 28:19, the crucified and resurrected Lord Jesus commands His church to make disciples of all “the nations” (τὰ ἔθνη). This speaks of the same group. Now that Christ has come and has died and has been raised, the gospel is to be proclaimed to all “the nations” (τὰ ἔθνη).

The next thing we note is that Jesus bound Satan “so that he would not deceive the nations any longer.” This “any longer” must mean that, up until a certain point in time, Satan had been successfully “deceiving the nations.” But now that Jesus has bound him in the abyss, Satan can no longer “deceive” them. We suggest that, in this context, “deceive the nations” means “prevents them from coming to Jesus to be saved.”

Before Jesus was crucified and resurrected, there was no gospel to proclaim. With no powerful, saving gospel (Romans 1:16) to proclaim, it was easy for Satan to deceive the nations and keep them in darkness. Then Jesus was made flesh in Bethlehem. Then in Matthew 16:18, Jesus declared, “I will build My church and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.” Then Jesus willingly went to the cross to die for sinners. And then He was raised on the third day to prove that His work had been perfectly accomplished and was fully acceptable to the Father. Then the Lord Jesus commissioned His church to go and proclaim the gospel to the nations.

But what is to be done about the great deceiver, the one who deceived Eve, the one who has been deceiving the nations since the Garden, the one who is a liar and the father of lies? How will the devil be prevented from continuing to deceive the nations while the gospel is being proclaimed? Remember in the parable in Mark 3:27 (above), Jesus had taught that he was going to bind Satan and then plunder his house. This parable in Mark 3:27 anticipates the binding of Satan that we see described in Rev. 20:3 when the risen Lord Jesus binds Satan in the abyss for the thousand years so that the nations will not be hindered as they come to faith in Jesus through the gospel. Thus this “binding of the dragon” in Rev. 20:2-3 is figuratively describing when Jesus neutralizes Satan and effectively takes him off the playing field for the thousand years of the gospel age. Being bound in the abyss, Satan must watch helplessly as those who were in his camp are plundered away and joyfully swear allegiance to Jesus. This is the meaning of the vision that John saw in Rev. 20:1-3.

SUMMARY

In the end, we see that Mark 3:27 and Revelation 20:1-3 describe the same event. Both Scriptures are telling of the time when the victorious Lord Jesus binds Satan in “the abyss” to prevent him from hindering the spread of the gospel and the growth of the church during the thousand years.

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 2/2/2024                     #691

When does “the thousand years” occur? Part 1 – Who is the angel?

POST OVERVIEW. The first in a series of studies of Revelation 20:1-3 seeking to determine when “the thousand years” occur. This specific study seeks to determine the identity of the angel in Revelation 20:1.

INTRODUCTION

Some of the most controversial questions concerning the book of Revelation revolve around the subject of “the thousand years” in Rev. 20:1-7. The purpose of this series of studies is to determine when “the thousand years” occurs in human history. The outcome that we seek is a graphical representation of where “the thousand years” fits on the timeline between the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ (ca. AD 30) on the one end and the inauguration of the new heaven and the new earth (Rev. 21:1) on the other.

PRELIMINARIES

PASSAGE FOR STUDY. Despite the immense attention and emphasis that accrues to “the thousand years,” the only explicit mention of this time period in the Bible is in the six verses of Rev. 20:2-7. But because we are seeking the answer to a very specific question (“When do the thousand years occur?”), we will further limit the focus of these studies to Revelation 20:1-3 when the angel throws the dragon into the abyss for “the thousand years.”

In any of these studies in Revelation 5-20, it is assumed that the reader has previously read my article, “Basic interpretive principles for Rev. 5-20.” [APOLOGIES: As of the publishing of this blog post, this article was still in progress.] This article explains the basis for the two key interpretive principles for Rev. 5-20 and also presents two crucial questions which are very useful for understanding these difficult passages.

TWO KEY PRINCIPLES AND TWO CRUCIAL QUESTIONS. Stated briefly, the two key principles are 1) Rev. 5-20 is not written in chronological order, and 2) our default assumption is that the characters and events of Rev. 5-20 are to be understood figuratively or symbolically, not literally. Since Revelation is not written chronologically, we must persistently ask the crucial question, “WHEN does this event occur?” And because Revelation is characterized by symbolism, we must often ask the crucial question, “WHO OR WHAT does this symbol represent?” As we progress through this study in Revelation 20, we will see the power and the usefulness of skillfully asking and answering these two crucial questions.

DEFINITION OF THE “THOUSAND YEARS.” In these studies, we are treating “the thousand years” as a label for a long period of time rather than as a literal thousand years. In the book of Revelation, certain numbers have symbolic meaning. “One thousand” is one of those symbolic numbers. When John wrote Revelation, “one thousand” simply meant a very large number, and so “a thousand years” should be understood simply as a very long period of time.

SUBSTITUTE “THE MILL” FOR “THE THOUSAND YEARS.” Since we are treating “the thousand years” as a single block of time, I am inventing the singular noun “the MILL” to represent “the thousand years.” This substitution is done to avoid confusion about whether “the thousand years” is singular or plural.

Finally, unless otherwise noted, my text is the New American Standard Bible (1995).

THE STUDY: WHEN DOES ‘THE THOUSAND YEARS’ OCCUR?

Part 1: Who is the angel in Rev. 20:1?

1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time. – Revelation 20:1-3

While the overall objective of this series of studies is to determine from the Scriptures when “the MILL” occurs on the timeline of end-times events, this first study is aimed at determining the identity of the angel mentioned in this passage.

We will begin by surveying the text to see what information these verses provide. First, we see two characters, an angel and the dragon. The dragon is clearly identified as Satan (20:2). Then we see the angel “laid hold of the dragon (Satan) and bound him for a MILL; and he threw him into the abyss and shut it and sealed it over him until the MILL was completed; after these things he (Satan) must be released for a short time.” From this we can say that the MILL begins when an angel grabs Satan and throws him into the abyss for the duration of the MILL. We also see that, at the end of the MILL, Satan must be released for a short time. So far, we know that:

  • The dragon represents Satan. (Thus, whenever we encounter “the dragon” in Revelation, we know that we have encountered Satan.)
  • The MILL begins when an angel binds Satan and throws him into the abyss.
  • At the end of the MILL, Satan is released from the abyss for a short time.

So now we know who the dragon represents, but we do not yet know who the angel represents. Therefore, we ask a crucial question. “WHO does this angel represent?”

THE ANGEL. Let’s examine what we know about this angel.

The angel is “coming down from heaven.” This is the identical phrase that we read in Rev. 10:1 (“another angel coming down out of heaven”) and “the angel” of Rev. 10 is certainly the glorious Lord Jesus. Thus, this may be a clue that this angel is also Jesus.

We also read that this “angel” has the key of the abyss in his hand. In Revelation, the one who controls all the keys is Jesus, for we read in Rev. 1:18, “I (Jesus) have the keys of death and Hades.” Just so, Jesus is the one who controls the key of the abyss. And here this “angel” has the key of the abyss. Another clue!

Thirdly, we see that the angel “laid hold of Satan and threw him into the abyss” (20:2-3). This cannot be an ordinary angel, because Satan is “the anointed cherub” of Ezekiel 28:14 and is the most powerful of all the angels. In Jude 9, even Michael the archangel did not dare pronounce a judgment against the devil, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.” But if Satan is more powerful than even archangels, we must ask the question, “Who, then, is this ‘angel’ who grabs Satan like a ragdoll and then throws him and shuts him and seals him in the abyss?” The answer is obvious: The “angel” of Rev. 20:1-3 can only be the glorious Lord Jesus Himself. He is the One who descends from heaven to deal with Satan and He is the One who holds the key to the abyss and He is the only one with the authority to completely overwhelm and subdue Satan. We conclude, then, that “the angel” of Rev. 20:1-3 is a symbol for the Lord Jesus.

  • The “angel” of Rev. 20:1-3 is Jesus and the event that begins the MILL is when Jesus binds Satan in the abyss for the duration of the MILL.

CONCLUSION. In this first study of Rev. 20:1-3, we have gathered these facts.

  • “The dragon” represents Satan. (Thus, whenever we encounter “the dragon” in Revelation, we know that we have encountered Satan.)
  • “The angel” in verse 1 represents the Lord Jesus.
  • The MILL begins when the Lord Jesus binds Satan and throws him into the abyss.
  • At the end of the MILL, Satan is released from the abyss for a short time.

Knowing that the MILL begins with Jesus binding Satan in the abyss, our next study will attempt to answer another crucial question, “WHEN does Jesus bind Satan in the abyss?”

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 9/10/2023                   #668

A detailed review of the “thousand years” (Rev. 20:1-6)

POST OVERVIEW. A refresher on the “thousand years” from Revelation 20:1-6, reviewing what the Scripture says and how to interpret and understand this difficult passage.

I have written before at length about the end times, both on numerous posts on this site and in my book, “The Last Act of the Drama: a guide to the end times,” but lately I have felt that it might be beneficial to give some refreshers on the key concepts.

THE “THOUSAND YEARS”

The “thousand years” is admittedly a difficult topic but it is also an important one. Misinterpreting the meaning of the “thousand years” can lead the student of the end times away from biblical teaching about the end of the age and about the return of Jesus and into confusing man-made concepts and ideas. As seekers of biblical truth, we must cling to the Scriptures until they reveal their truth to us and must resist the temptation to simply adopt a popular view or to be influenced by a persuasive teacher.

When studying these questions about the “thousand years,” we should turn to Rev. 20:1-6 and observe what the Bible asserts, that Satan (the dragon) is bound in the abyss for “a thousand years” (Rev. 20:2, 3). This is plain from this passage of Scripture and we know that the Scripture cannot be broken (John 10:35), so first we conclude that Satan is bound for the thousand years. Next, Rev. 20:4 says that “the souls of those who had been beheaded and of those who had not worshiped the beast came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.” Rev. 20:6 adds that these will reign with Christ for a thousand years. So, with this basic interpretation of these verses on the thousand years, we see that, during the thousand years, while Satan (the dragon) is bound in the abyss, the souls of the saints are reigning with Christ in heaven. So far, so good.

But we must go deeper than this if we are going to draw any real meaning from this passage. We must seek to answer two obvious questions:

  1. What is the nature of the “thousand years?” That is, is it a literal period of time or is it a figurative expression?
  2. When does the “thousand years” occur?

Only after answering these two questions can we begin to fully understand the meaning of the “thousand years.” Here I will try to (briefly) describe my view. (By the way, I published a book in October 2021 called “The Last Act of the Drama: a guide to the end times.” That book expresses most of my thoughts on these things in more detail. It is available on Amazon.)

  1. The “thousand years” is not a literal time period but is simply an expression for a long period of time. Numbers in Revelation, especially numbers like 3, 7, 12, and 1000, often have figurative significance. The number “thousand” in Revelation is usually figurative and simply means a really big number. That means that “thousand years” does not mean 365,000 days. It just means a really long time.
  2. The “thousand years” must begin at least a thousand years before the resurrection of the saints (1 Thess. 4:14-17; 1 Cor. 15:23, 51-54), because we know that the resurrection of the saints will be on the last day (John 6:39, 40, 44, 54; 11:24). Directly related to this is the fact that Jesus’ coming occurs at the same time as the resurrection of the saints (1 Thess. 4:15-17; 1 Cor. 15:23; 1 John 3:2). Thus, the “thousand years” must begin long BEFORE the resurrection of the saints and the return of Jesus because the “thousand years” cannot occur after the last day.
  3. (From 2) The binding of Satan in the abyss, which is the event that begins the thousand years (Rev. 20:2, 3), occurs at least a thousand years before the coming of Jesus and the Resurrection.
  4. The “angel” (Rev. 20:1) who binds the dragon (Satan) in the abyss is the risen Lord Jesus, for only the Son of God has the power and authority to throw Satan around like a rag doll.
  5. In Rev. 20:4, John sees “thrones.” In Revelation, thrones are always in heaven, so “the souls of those who had been beheaded . . .” are in heaven. Also in Rev. 20:4, John explicitly sees “souls” in heaven with Christ,” not glorified saints. Thus, we know the “thousand years” occurs before the resurrection, because “souls” only exist until the resurrection (1 Cor. 15:42-44, 51-54).
  6. In Psalm 110:1, the conversation between the LORD (Father) and the Lord (Son) took place when Jesus returned to heaven after His victorious death and resurrection. After that, the Lord (Jesus) has been seated at the LORD’s (Father’s) right hand until His judgment of His enemies.
  7. The beginning of the “thousand years” occurs during the ascension of Jesus, between Acts 1:9 and Revelation 5:6. Jesus (“the angel” in Rev. 20:1) binds Satan in the abyss (Rev. 20:2, 3) and then arrives in heaven (Rev. 5:6) where He begins His reign with the souls of the faithful saints.
  8. In a “simplified” timeline of the events of the last days, Jesus ascends (Acts 1:9), binds Satan in the abyss (Rev. 20:2, 3), thus beginning the “thousand years,” and takes His seat at the Father’s right hand (Psalm 110:1). The victorious Lamb (Rev. 5:6) sends out (Rev. 6:2) the commissioned (Matt. 28:19-20) church to proclaim the gospel to the nations for the “thousand years.” At the end of the “thousand years,” Satan is released from the abyss (Rev. 20:3, 7) and his release begins the 42 months. Satan makes war in heaven (Rev. 12:7-8) but he is defeated and thrown to earth (Rev. 12:9, etc.). The events of the 42 months include the persecution of the church (Rev. 6:9-11; 11:3-10, esp. 7; 13:7, 10, 15), the final “trumpet” warnings to the unrighteous to repent (Rev. 8:6-9:21), the rise of the beast (Rev. 13:1-10) and the false prophet (“another beast,” Rev. 13:11-17), the increase of lawlessness (Matt. 24:12), the apostasy of the visible church (2 Thess. 2:3), and the gathering of the kings of the earth and the forces of wickedness against the faithful church to attempt the annihilation of the church (Rev. 16:13-16; 19:19; 20:8-9). On the last day, the faithful church is rescued by resurrection (Rev. 11:11-12) and rises to meet the descending Lord Jesus (1 Thess. 4:15-17; Rev. 19:11-16). The Lord brings wrath and judgment on the unrighteous and slays them all (Rev. 19:20, 21). The final event is the great white throne where the unrighteous are condemned into the lake of fire (Rev. 20:11-15).

Soli Deo gloria            rmb                 4/16/2023                   #641

Reading “Revelation” #4 – Principles to consider

POST OVERVIEW. One ofa series of posts giving principles for reading and interpreting Revelation chapters 4-20, which is the most difficult section of the book. This fourth post of the series deals with general principles to keep in mind as you approach the interpretation of the book. Previous posts in series: Post #590 (11/21), Post #592 (11/26), Post #593 (11/28)

SERIES DESCRIPTION. The book of Revelation is probably the most difficult book of the Bible to interpret correctly, and the main difficulties of the book are in chapters 4-20. Because of these interpretive difficulties and because many Bible teachers have offered conflicting and bewildering ideas about what the various passages of Revelation 4-20 mean, many earnest believers know just enough about the book of Revelation to be confused and intimidated by it. To clear up some of this confusion, in October 2021, I published my book, The Last Act of the Drama: a guide to the end times.

Now, a year later and before the 2nd edition of that book, I want to offer to readers of this beautiful prophecy a series of posts giving principles and guidelines for how to understand and interpret Revelation so that the book becomes a delight instead of a burden.

Interpreting the complex visions of Revelation 4-20 is made more manageable when the reader understands both the purposes for the book of Revelation and principles for navigating the text. Purposes and principles are KEY CONCEPTS which place much-needed limitations on the reader’s options for interpretation and thus reduce the feeling of intimidation. In the last post (#593, 11/28/2022), we had explored four purposes for Revelation. In this post, we will go on to look at general principles about the book.

PRINCIPLES

These principles are really just general ideas or truths about Revelation that help the reader understand where the boundaries of interpretation lie.

PRINCIPLE. Because Revelation is the last book in the inspired canon, it is the book in the Bible that is most “dependent” on the rest of Scripture. By that I mean that the events and actions and characters in Revelation must harmonize with and be consistent with all the other teaching of the Bible. There cannot be a conflict between the timing of an event in Revelation and the timing of that same event in other books of the Bible. For example, we know from Jesus’ teaching in the gospel of John that the general resurrection of all believers occurs on the last day (John 6:39, 40, 44, 54; also, 11:24). Therefore, in Revelation, the general resurrection of all believers must occur on the last day.

Because of this principle, a given interpretation of a passage in Revelation must be examined to see if it conflicts with an existing text of Holy Spirit-inspired Scripture. If a conflict is discovered, the interpretation must be rejected and replaced by one that removes the conflict. All Scripture is God-breathed and the Holy Spirit does not breathe out conflict.

PRINCIPLE. There is nothing profoundly new in Revelation. Remember that Revelation is the last book of the Bible and so it functions as the last book of the Bible. This means that, in this book, we are “landing the plane.” We are pulling together all the threads of the tapestry to show that the masterpiece was always an integrated and cohesive and intricate whole. Revelation is drawing the story to its intended ending and resolving all the plots. Many references and allusions are made to the Old Testament to reveal how these prophetic foreshadows are now fulfilled in the glorious return of the Lord Jesus, in the glorification of all His saints, and in the terrible judgment of all the reprobate. Therefore, in Revelation the persistent question is, “Where have we seen this before?” and is not, “What does this new teaching mean?” Again, there is nothing profoundly new in Revelation.

PRINCIPLE. Revelation presents no new biblical doctrine. This flows as a corollary from the previous statement. The last book of the Bible is not the place to put new doctrinal teaching.

PRINCIPLE. The book of Revelation presents no new major events. All of human history has already been presented in other biblical books. There is no major new event or era which was excluded from the previous sixty-five books of inspired Scripture that suddenly appears in Revelation. But, when I say that Revelation presents no new major events, I do not mean that it presents no new events at all. Remember from our previous study that one of the purposes of Revelation is “to fill in the blanks.” There are many details of the 42 months and even of the last day that require the introduction of minor events. The trumpet warnings (Rev. 8-9), the casting of Satan into the abyss (Rev. 20:3) and then down to the earth (Rev. 12:9, etc.), the persecution of the church by the beast (Rev. 11:7; 13:7), the battle of Armageddon (Rev. 16:13-16; 19:19; 20:9), even the period of the 42 months itself (Rev. 11:2, 3; 12:6, 14; 13:5) are all details that fill in blanks, but these minor events fit into what we already know of history without requiring an entirely new timeline.

Human history between the advents is already set: the risen Jesus ascended after commissioning the church and now sits at the Father’s right hand (Psalm 110:1) awaiting the time of His return. The church is gathering in the elect as she perseveres as sheep in the midst of wolves (Matt. 10:16). The church is proclaiming the gospel, baptizing those who believe, and teaching them to obey Jesus (Matt. 28:19-20). This will continue until the last day when the general resurrection occurs and Jesus returns and the reprobate are judged. Then comes the new heavens and the new earth. That is the flow of biblical history and has been the flow of the grand drama since human history began. Revelation, as the last book of the Bible, is not the place to introduce some new history.

PRINCIPLE. There are no major characters in Revelation whom we have not met before in Scripture. We have known the dragon (Satan, the devil, the serpent) since he tempted Adam in the garden. Of course, we have known about the Lord Jesus ever since we were told about the serpent-crusher in Genesis 3:15. Jesus has been foretold, He has been Incarnate, He has accomplished His work by dying on the cross for His people, He has been raised from the dead, and He has ascended. In Revelation 5, He enters heaven as the returning, victorious Lamb and in Revelation 19:11-16, He returns to earth on a white horse to tread out the wine press of the wrath of God the Almighty. So, we know the Lamb.

In Revelation 13, we meet the beast, but he is simply the final and most vivid manifestation of the antichrist, the human embodiment of wickedness and evil. We have met him several times before. He is the little horn (Daniel 7:21-26), the small horn (Daniel 8), the prince who is to come (Daniel 9:26-27), and the despicable person (Daniel 11:21-45). We have seen him as Gog, the chief prince of Meshech in the land of Magog (Ezekiel 38-39) and we encountered him in 2 Thess. 2:3-12 where he appears as the man of lawlessness.

The point here is that there are no new major characters in Revelation.

This consideration of principles will be continued in the next post.

SDG                 rmb                 11/29/2022                 #594

Reading Revelation (Part 3): Nothing significant and new

POST OVERVIEW. The third in a series of posts about ways to read the book of Revelation that make it less confusing and intimidating. This third post discusses the fact that Revelation introduces no significant new characters or events into end times prophecy. Everything significant has already been mentioned in the previous text of Scripture.  (Also, see previous posts: #568 on the purposes of Revelation and #569 about the constraints that are on the book of Revelation.)

INTRODUCTION. Reading the book of Revelation is a challenging task for any disciple of Jesus. The visions the apostle John relates to us in Revelation are strange and spectacular, and trying to make sense of the visions and then put them into some coherent picture is difficult work. But, while acknowledging the difficulties involved, I believe the challenge of understanding the book of Revelation is eased considerably when we understand how to read the book. In these posts I hope to offer some principles for approaching Revelation that will make the book much less intimidating.

CONSIDER THE FICTION NOVEL

Imagine for a moment that you are reading a classic novel by a skilled author, perhaps Dostoyevsky or Victor Hugo. You have been fascinated as you have seen the author create the main characters in the book, the protagonist and the antagonist and their supporting casts. What initially appeared to be unrelated stories about random people and events were gradually woven into the plot as the movement of the novel steadily picked up steam. Then, at precisely the right moment, the drama reached its climax and the complexities and perplexities of the story were resolved as the hero emerged victorious and the villain was trounced into disgrace. The entire reading has been a satisfying journey into realistic adventure, and now you are turning the final pages to see how the tensions are resolved and the loose ends are tied up.

Then unexpectedly, out of nowhere, a mere fifteen pages from THE END, three new characters appear and a brand new context is introduced which seems disconnected with anything in the previous 500 pages. You were, figuratively speaking, expecting the wheels of the plane to settle softly onto the tarmac and suddenly the nose of the jet was wrenched upward. “Will this flight never end?” Where did this come from? Why are these characters being introduced now at the end of the book? The fact is that a well-written, classic novel does not introduce new characters or plot twists in the last chapter of the novel. The last chapter is where the action is concluded and the plot of the novel is summarized. The last chapter is for landing softly on the tarmac, pulling into the arrival gate, and maybe even picking up your luggage at Baggage Claim. It is not for introducing new characters and plot twists.

CONSIDER THE PURPOSE OF REVELATION

In the same way as the novel, the word of God, the Bible, has as its final book, its final “chapter,” the book of Revelation. As we have already said in the previous post (#568) on the purposes of Revelation, this final book serves as the instrument of conclusion and summary, as the book of the Bible that ties together the loose ends and reveals how our Hero, the Lord Jesus, ultimately triumphs over His adversary, the devil, as He simultaneously gathers all His glorified saints around the throne to worship Him forever. Revelation is written to resolve the mysteries which have been created in the previous sixty-five books, not introduce new characters and events never before encountered.

SIGNIFICANT BUT NOT NEW, OR NEW BUT NOT SIGNIFICANT

Since that is the case, it follows that the book of Revelation introduces no significant new characters or events into the biblical story. Both adjectives are important. Revelation may introduce new characters who play minor roles, but who do not influence the plot. These would be new characters but not significant characters. An example would be “another beast” of chapter 13:11ff (who is also the “false prophet” of 16:13, etc.). This other beast has not appeared before in other biblical prophecy, but he is not significant in the events of the end times. Another example would be “the beast,” who appears in 11:7 and then again in 13:1-10, etc. This is a significant character whom we have seen before in Scripture with different names. This is the little horn (Dan. 7:11, 25), the small horn (Dan. 8:9, 23-25), the prince who is to come (Dan. 9:26), the despicable person (Dan. 11:21-45), and the man of lawlessness (2 Thess. 2:3ff). He is the human embodiment of evil, often referred to as the antichrist. So, “the beast” is significant but not new.

Thus, Revelation may give new labels to old major characters, but it does not introduce major new characters. So, “the thousand years” is a new label, but not a new concept, “the beast” is not a new character, and Babylon” is not a new city. These are examples of things that have appeared before in the Scriptures but now are being brought to a conclusion in Revelation.

AN EXCEPTION – THE 42 MONTHS

One concept that could be an exception to the rule is the time period of the 42 months. Mentioned five times in Rev. 11-13 (11:2, 3; 12:6, 14; 13:5), this is a time of upheaval and dramatic activity that occurs immediately before the return of Jesus on the last day. The period of the 42 months has not been mentioned before in Scripture, so it is definitely new. The question is, “Is it ‘significant’?” I think the answer has to be ‘yes,’ for it is during this time that the fifth seal is opened (6:9-11), the trumpet warnings are sounded (8-9), the two witnesses appear (11:3-10), Satan is thrown to the earth (12:7-17), and the beast and the false prophet rise up to persecute the church (11:7; 13; 16:13f; 19:17f).

SUMMARY

What I am saying in this post is that understanding most of Revelation does not depend on a vivid imagination but depends, instead, on a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures, and particularly of the Old Testament prophets. There is very little new in the text of Revelation. A careful reading will reveal that the book concludes God’s inspired Word by pulling from much of the Old Testament to draw the story of Scripture to a close. The better that the disciple of Jesus knows the whole word of God, the better they will understand the difficult passages in Revelation.

A second attribute is also required to grapple with the book of Revelation. Scriptural knowledge must be accompanied by an ability to see patterns and to recognize allusions to previous scriptural books.

So, approach Revelation as a review of the entire Bible and a book that draws things to a close, and you will enjoy the book much more.

SDG                 rmb                 9/13/2022                   #571

The binding of Satan, Part 2 (Revelation 20:1-3)

POST OVERVIEW. There are two places in the Bible that teach about the binding of Satan, in Matthew 12:29 and in Revelation 20:1-3. In post #566, we looked at Matthew 12:29. This post will be a study of Revelation 20:1-3.  

Our purpose in these two posts is to discover what the Scripture teaches us about the binding of Satan, implicit in Matthew 12:29 and explicit in Revelation 20:1-3. In post #566, we looked at Matthew 12:29 and discovered that this verse teaches us that Jesus is going to bind Satan so that Satan’s kingdom can be plundered, and that “plundering” will be accomplished through the church’s proclamation of the gospel. But Matthew 12:29 also left us with questions. Exactly when will Jesus bind Satan? And how will this binding take place? What does that actually look like? To answer these questions, we now turn to our second “binding” passage, Revelation 20:1-3.

1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.

We will start our study by identifying the characters involved. In Rev. 20:2 we see the dragon, and we know that the dragon is Satan. There is also “an angel coming down from heaven.” Although John uses “angel” to describe this being, this “angel” is none other than the resurrected Lord Jesus. Why do I say that this “angel” is Jesus?

  • First, we observe that the angel is holding the key to the abyss in his hand. In Revelation, the only one who has keys is Jesus. He has “the keys of death and of Hades” (1:18), and here he also has the key to the abyss where he is going to put Satan for a thousand years.
  • But also notice the power and authority of this unnamed “angel.” Whereas Michael the archangel did not dare pronounce a judgment against the devil (Jude 9), this angel has the power to throw Satan around like a ragdoll. He “laid hold of the dragon (Satan) and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss and shut it and sealed it over him so that he would not deceive the nations any longer” (20:2-3). During all of this, the dragon (Satan) is powerless to resist. The only one who can throw Satan around like this is the Lord Jesus. This angel, then, is Jesus.

Thus, the characters in this scene in Rev. 20:1-3 are Satan and the Lord Jesus, and the action performed is that Jesus binds Satan. Notice this is the exact same situation that we encountered in our study of Matthew 12:29, where we had the strong man (Satan) and Jesus as the characters and the action was that Jesus bound the strong man. We remember from Matt. 12:29 that Jesus binds the strong man so that He can plunder his kingdom. Thus, by logical deduction, we can say that Jesus will bind Satan in the abyss so that He can plunder his kingdom.

WHEN IS SATAN BOUND?

But can we also determine when Jesus is going to bind Satan? I think we can.

First, from Rev. 20:2 we observe that the dragon (Satan) is bound at the beginning of the thousand years.

Also, from Matt. 12:29, we know that someone (in this case, Jesus) “first binds the strong man (Satan), and then he will plunder his house.” So the sequence goes, “First we bind him, then we plunder him.” From this verse and from ordinary reasoning, we can conclude that, immediately after the strong man (Satan) is bound, the plundering of the strong man’s house (Satan’s kingdom) begins.

Since, from Rev. 20:2 we know that Satan is bound at the beginning of the thousand years, and from Matt. 12:29 we know that, when Satan is bound, the plundering of his kingdom begins, we can logically conclude that the plundering of Satan’s kingdom begins at the beginning of the thousand years.

Now the question is, “When does Satan’s kingdom begin to be plundered?” If we can answer this question, we will have discovered both when Satan is bound and when the thousand years begins. But the answer to this question is obvious: Satan’s kingdom began to be plundered the moment the commissioned church (Matthew 28:19-20) began to proclaim the gospel of salvation so that lost sinners could be saved. Thus, we now know that Satan was bound at the very beginning of the gospel age (~AD 32) and, since, from Rev. 20:2, Satan was bound to begin the thousand years, we know that “the thousand years” began in ~AD 32.

DOES THIS FIT THE BIBLICAL RECORD?

So far, so good. But could this have actually occurred? That is, does the Scripture allow the possibility that the resurrected Jesus bound Satan in the abyss in ~AD 32? Yes, the Scripture does allow for this occurrence.

Recall that the resurrected Lord Jesus ascended to heaven in Acts 1:9. Then in Rev. 5:6ff, the victorious Lamb arrives in heaven to the praises of the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders and to the praises of myriads of angels. He begins to break the seven seals of the book, and from that point until His glorious return (Rev. 19:11-16) He is seated in heaven at the Father’s right hand (Psalm 110:1). So, when would there be a time when Jesus could bind Satan in the abyss?

After the resurrected Lord leaves His disciples on earth (Acts 1:9), but before He arrives in heaven as the victorious Lamb (Rev. 5:6), He is seen “coming down from heaven, holding the key to the abyss” (Rev. 20:1). It is at this time, while He is ascending to heaven, that He binds Satan in the abyss for the thousand years. After binding Satan, Jesus ascends to heaven.

This scenario agrees with the biblical text and provides a reasonable explanation for the events surrounding the binding of Satan.

SDG                 rmb                 9/9/2022                     #567

The binding of Satan, Part 1 (Matthew 12:29)

INTRODUCTION. There are two places in the Bible that teach about the binding of Satan, in Matthew 12:29 and in Revelation 20:1-3. This post will be a study of Matthew 12:29, seeking to discover what Jesus teaches us about this subject.

Our purpose in these two posts is to discover what the Scripture teaches us about the binding of Satan, implicit in Matthew 12:29 and explicit in Revelation 20:1-3. First, Matt. 12:29.

Our study verse is at the end of a passage (Matt. 12:22-29) in which Jesus teaches about casting out demons. Satan does not cast out Satan (12:26) and Jesus does not cast out demons by Beelzebul (12:27). Rather, Jesus casts out demons by the Spirit of God, thus proving that He has more power than Satan. Then He says,

“Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.” – Matthew 12:29

Let’s examine and interpret this verse.

First, who is “the strong man?” From the context, it is clear that the strong man refers to Satan. Satan is the one who deceives and captures the unrighteous (2 Tim. 2:26). Satan blinds the minds of the unbelievers (2 Cor. 4:4). Satan has his schemes (Eph. 6:11) and he is the one who hinders us from proclaiming the gospel (1 Thess. 2:18).

And “the strong man’s house” speaks of Satan’s kingdom (12:26), consisting of his demons and his deceptions, his temptations and his tricks. Satan’s kingdom also contains his most valuable property, namely all the unrighteous whom he desires to keep trapped in their ignorance of the gospel. It is the unrighteous who are considered his property, and these Satan will guard with all his might. Satan is “the strong man, fully armed” of Luke 11:21. He is a formidable foe, and it seems unlikely that anyone has the power to “carry off his property” and to “plunder his house.”

But there is One who is able and who has the power. Jesus, the Son of Man, is the one who “first binds the strong man, and then He will plunder his house.” Although this is in figurative language, we know exactly what Jesus is saying here. The Son of God came “to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). Jesus was sent “to proclaim release to the captives” (Luke 4:18), to render the devil powerless and “free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives” (Hebrews 2:14-15). “The Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10), and Jesus will certainly accomplish His mission. Thus Jesus BINDS Satan so that He can plunder his house. When Satan is bound, he is unable to guard his house.

How does this look in biblical, redemptive terms? Now, Satan has been bound, and as the church proclaims the gospel among the nations, Satan can only watch helplessly as his house is plundered. Through His church, Jesus is now plundering Satan’s house and is drawing all men to Himself (John 12:32).

In summary, then, Matthew 12:29 teaches us that Jesus is going to BIND Satan so that Satan’s kingdom can be plundered. So far, so good.

But this still leaves us with key questions unanswered. For example, when is Satan going to be bound? That is, at what point in history does Jesus bind Satan so that Satan’s house can be plundered? Also, exactly how is Satan bound? For these questions we must ask, “Is there any other place in Scripture that might tell us more about this binding of Satan?” Glad you asked. As a matter of fact, there is. It turns out that Revelation 20:1-3 is another passage that explicitly mentions the binding of Satan, and a careful reading of these verses will reveal both when Satan is bound and how this binding takes place so that his kingdom can be plundered.

And that study will be the subject of our next post.

SDG                 rmb                 9/7/2022                     #566

The thousand years, the forty-two months, and Satan (Part 1)

SUMMARY. This short study of “the thousand years” and the “forty-two months” comes from the book of Revelation and serves as a refresher for understanding the flow of the events which occur at the end of the age. In this study we also see how the devil fits into the timing of these events. (See my book, “The Last Act of the Drama” (Amazon, 2021) for a more detailed treatment.)

MINI-SERIES OVERVIEW. A good understanding of the book of Revelation is needed to have a proper grasp of the end times. The problem is that it is very difficult to understand the book of Revelation and especially to follow the flow of events in the section of the book from chapter 4 through chapter 20. This series of posts serves as a teaching session to define the events that take place and to explain the order in which they occur. We will also see that Satan appears in the flow of events in Revelation.

THE LOCATION OF THE DEVIL IN HISTORY. Most people would say that the devil spends most of redemptive history on earth, but the Bible tells a slightly different story. The book of Job is one of the oldest books in the Bible, and in Job, Satan presents himself before the LORD (Job 1:6). This must mean that Satan is in heaven, for “the LORD is in His holy temple, the LORD’s throne is in heaven” (Psalm 11:4). Thus it seems that, during the Old Testament period, in some sense, Satan is in heaven.

When we jump forward to the time just before the Incarnation, in Revelation 12:3 we see the devil as the red dragon in heaven ready to devour the Messiah (12:3-4). Thus, just before Christ’s Incarnation, again we see that Satan is in heaven.

Revelation 12:5 describes the Incarnation and the Ascension of Jesus but is silent about what is happening with the devil during this time. To find out what happens with the devil next, we need to turn over to Revelation 20 and see how Satan is removed from heaven.

A PAUSE FOR SOME INFORMATION

AN OVERVIEW OF THE FLOW OF REVELATION. It is necessary to pause here and turn aside to supply key information about what is happening in Revelation. Therefore, we will take a moment, first, to give an overview of how the pieces fit together and then how the events flow through the chapters of Revelation.

FITTING THE PIECES TOGETHER. First, then, we will address how the pieces or components fit together. Chapters 4 through 20 of the book of Revelation describe three distinct periods of time: “the thousand years,” the “forty-two months,” and the last day.

THE THOUSAND YEARS. “The thousand years” is the name or the label for the period of time in redemptive history that occurs between the binding of Satan in the abyss (Rev. 20:1-3) and the release of Satan from the abyss (Rev. 20:3, 7). It will shown that “the thousand years” begins during the ascension of Jesus from earth to heaven following His resurrection. Thus, “the thousand years” was inaugurated around AD 30. The term “a thousand years” in Revelation 20 is a figurative expression for the duration of the period of time named “the thousand years.” In Revelation, a thousand of anything does not communicate an exact number but tells of a very large number too big to count. Thus, a thousand years is a really long period of time. So, “the thousand years” began with the binding of Satan in the abyss in about AD 30 and will continue for a really long period of time until the release of Satan from the abyss.

THE FORTY-TWO MONTHS. The period of “the thousand years” is followed immediately by the period of the “forty-two months.” “Forty-two months” (Rev. 11:2; 13:5), “one thousand two hundred and sixty days” (Rev. 11:3; 12:6), and “a time and times and half a time” (Rev. 12:14) are names or labels for this relatively short period of intense eschatological activity that occurs between Satan’s release from the abyss (Rev. 20:3, 7) and the beginning of the last day. As a thousand years was a figurative expression for the duration of “the thousand years,” so “forty-two months” is a figurative expression for the duration of this period. While “thousand years” conveys the idea of a very long, indefinite period of time, “forty-two months” conveys the idea of a much shorter, more defined period of time, not literally forty-months, but a brief time, like less than a decade.

THE LAST DAY. Although this series of blog posts will not touch on the last day, we will define it here. The expression “the last day” is to be understood literally, meaning it is literally the last day of human existence on the fallen earth. You may ask, “If ‘thousand years’ and ‘forty-two months’ are figurative, why do you claim that ‘the last day’ is literal?” The expressions “thousand years” and “forty-two months” are unique to the book of Revelation, both in actual textual appearance and in concept. Since these two concepts are unique to Revelation, they must be understood within the context of the book of Revelation. It is apparent in reading Revelation that these expressions are not required to be literal, nor are they intended to be taken as literal. It is clear from the text that these expressions are conveying a concept, not a precise period of time. By contrast, the concept and expression of “the last day” have been part of redemptive history since the very beginning. For example, in the gospel of John, Jesus speaks of the last day (John 6:39, 40, 44, 54). In the Old Testament prophets, we read often of “that day.” Ever since the fall of man in Eden, there has been a coming day of recompense when the unrighteous will be judged. As we examine this biblical concept of a last day, it is also evident that the last day is literally the last day. That is, all of biblical revelation presents the last day or “that day” as a regular, literal day. Since throughout God’s inspired word, the last day is presented as literal, we assume that the book of Revelation presents it the same way.

SUMMARY. So far, we have fit some of the pieces together. According to our understanding of these components, then, “the thousand years” began around AD 30 with the dragon (Satan, the devil, the serpent of old) being bond in the abyss. The end of “the thousand years” is marked by Satan’s release from the abyss, which simultaneously inaugurates “the forty-two months.” Once the events of “the forty-months” are completed, the final events of the last day occur, which closes human history.

Where are we in our study, then? Remember that, in the Overview section above, we stated that we were first going to see how the pieces fit together and then were going to consider how the events flow through the chapters of Revelation.

So, now that we see how the pieces fit together, the next post will explore how “the thousand years” and “forty-two months” appear in the text of Revelation so that we can see how Satan journeys from heaven just before the Incarnation (Rev. 12:3-4) to the lake of fire on the last day (Rev. 20:10).            

SDG                 rmb                 7/13/2022                   #553