Year 0, Day 29: Revelation 20

Other Worldly Locations

The Abyss should not be confused with Hell.  The Abyss is where the dead were thought to go while they await judgment in the end.  This is also the place where special sinners were sent to await punishment.  In ancient thought, the Abyss was a place where even the demons feared to tread – probably because demons cannot have any great effect upon those who have already died.  We can see an example of this in Luke 8:31 where Jesus is casting out demons from a demoniac and they plead with him to cast them into a herd of pigs and not into the Abyss.  So, it should not surprise us that the angel casts Satan into the Abyss and then seals it so that Satan cannot escape.

There are a few interesting comments to be made here.  First, notice that we are given multiple names for Satan lest we miss who is thrown into the Abyss.  But even more interesting is the effect of Satan being thrown into the Abyss.  Yes, Satan is thrown into the Abyss so that the world would be free from outside temptation for a time.  But the true effect of that is profound.  Before the final end of the world humanity beings will be given a time for which we have no excuse but ourselves.  There will no longer be a devil-made-me-do-it excuse.

First Resurrection

So now let’s move on to the first resurrection.  According to this passage, there are to be two resurrections.  The first resurrection is only for those who have died in and suffered for their faith.  A special privilege is show to those who are loyal to Christ and willing to sacrifice for Christ.  You can see that in this passage there are two categories of people.  The first are the martyrs (literally those who are beheaded).  These are the people who died for their faith.  The second are those who did not worship the beast.  They might not have physically died for the faith, but they likely have made sacrifices for their faith.  The point is that following God implies sacrifice.  Sometimes the sacrifice is physical.  Other times the sacrifice is emotional, mental, or relational.  I do not know what the hardest kind of sacrifice to make is.

Now here is where we get into the temptation of Chiliasm.  Those who are in Christ will be given the power to judge, and this is a common theme in the NT.  Jesus tells his disciples that they will be judge over the 12 tribes in Matthew 19:28.  Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 6:2 that the destiny of the saints is to judge the earth.  Taken literally, this can have serious consequences towards pride as discussed in the post about Millennialism/Chiliasm.  Taken figuratively, what this could be saying is that those who assume the position of judging in this world will be judged in the next, while those who are in a position to be judged in this world will be freed of that station in the next.  Personally, I tend to follow the latter explanation as it helps prevent the temptation of taking Chiliasm to a wrong end.

Dealing With Satan and Rebellion Forever

After the establishment of the kingdom, Satan is realized and we reach the climax of judgment.  Satan continues with the work that he had been doing all along.  He goes about gathering others against God.  The attack on the “city that has been loved” is a classic reference in Jewish thought.  Jerusalem is God’s city, and the world coming to attack God would figuratively be coming to gather around Jerusalem.  (This is likely a reference from Daniel 11 and Zechariah 14:1-11)  The reference to Gog and Magog originally comes out of Ezekiel 38 and 39 - a reference that began to be manipulated until Gog and Magog became symbolic of all those who oppose God. 

In the end, it is God who takes care of the fight.  The world comes to attack God and God’s holy people, but it is God who handles the fight.  Fire comes down from heaven and consumes God’s enemies.  Those who oppose God are then thrown into the lake of fire so God’s triumph is complete.  And then we move into judgment.

Notice that God is described as sitting on the brilliant (white) throne.  John is reminding us and his 1^st century audience that God as a judge is pure.  God’s judgment comes to creation first.  The earth and the heavens flee before God and there is no place for them.  They will be discarded.  It is only God who has the right to discard them, because God is the one who created them and laid their foundations.  This follows traditional Jewish teaching found in Psalm 102:25-27 and Isaiah 51:6.  Furthermore, this follows Christian teaching found in Mark 13:31 and 2 Peter 3:10.

After creation is judged, notice that God’s judgment over mankind is over the great and small.  Nobody escapes.  There are two types of books mentioned in this passage.  The first are the books that all the deeds of mankind are mentioned in.  God not only knows all the deeds of mankind but these deeds are also recorded as proof.  (See Daniel 7:10, Enoch 90:20, 2 Baruch 24:1, 4 Ezra 6:20) The second kind of book mentioned is the book of life.  This is likely an analogy to the census records that every ruler kept.  All kings would keep a census so that they knew who their citizens were.  God also keeps a census so that He knows who His people are. (See Exodus 32:32, Psalm 69:28, Isaiah 4:3, Phillipians 4:3, Revelation 3:5, 13:8) 

We should not think that both books are equal in importance in the judgment.  Our deeds are recorded and we will be held accountable for them.  We will absolutely be judged according to our deeds and I’ve got news for us – we will all {me included} be found wanting and lacking.  But ultimately we are judged by the book of life.  Once all of humanity is found lacking we are ultimately judged by whether or not we are God’s citizens.

This is a bit of a scary passage.  It also should be a good bit humbling.  Chiliasm has a serious danger in that it can be subject to pride and greed as we are tempted to anticipate when “we judge” over those who “judged us” in this life.  That is a path that is precarious to navigate.  Only through a true understanding of our own fallen state of depravity can we ultimate come out to the real conclusion that everything received from the hand of God is purely through His grace.  Even the final judgment – being written in the Book of Life – is something that we do not deserve and only have access to it because Christ was offered up by God in the first place.  When we read passages like this, we should find humbleness before the throne first – well before we ever find anticipation of glory.  God’s peace.