A review of Revelation 20 in the context of the business workplace

1. ACE Men’s Bible Study
Revelation
Spring Semester
2017

2. ACE Men’s Bible Study

3. Revelation 20 Overview
• Millennium is only mentioned in Rev 20
• The millennium in relationship to Christ, Satan, Man, Trib Saints, Resurrected Saints,
Earth, Great White Throne
• Three Popular Views
• Post millennialism – Great worldwide turn to Christ after 1000 years. Church
would usher in the kingdom.
• AH-millennialism – Not literal, simply a metaphor, spirtualizes the 1000 years
• Pre-millennialism – takes Rev 20 literally unless the context instructs otherwise
• No millennium until Satan is removed from the earth – curse of sin must be removed
• Resurrection of the OT saints at the beginning of the 1000 years (Daniel 12:1)
• Resurrection of the Trib saints included in the resurrection of the OT saints
• Final testing of man under ideal conditions – rebellious to the end!

4. Revelation 20 Overview
• Verses 1-3
• Satan bound for 1000 years and cast into the abyss - not the bottomless pit, not the lake of fire
• Why does God loosen him after 1000 years??
• Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer: “If you tell me why God let him loose in the first place, then I’ll tell you why
God let him loose in the second place”
• Verses 4-6
• Trib saints trade 3.5 years of pain for 1000 years of reign
• First resurrection – Christ, the church, the OT saints, the Trib saints.
• Second resurrection of the lost is a separate resurrection altogether.
• In nine verses the “1000 years” is repeated six times
• Who is seated on the thrones – all those in the First Resurrection
• Church will reside in the new Jerusalem where we reign with Christ from that exalted place
• Christ is omnipresent between the new Jerusalem and the old Jerusalem
• Multitudes of Jews and Gentiles will enter the kingdom in natural bodies, not having died
• These together with those born during the millennium, are the ones tested
• Church in glorified bodies will mingle with the multitude in natural bodies

5. Revelation 20 Overview
• Verse 7-10
• Reveals the evil in the heart of man
• Multitudes enter the millennium, and multitudes will be born into the millennium
• Isaiah 11:6, 65:20
• Earth’s population explosion: no disease, curse of sin removed, but human heart unchanged
• Different Gog and Magog from Ezekiel 38. Gog and Magog I and II like WWI and II.
• Permanent judgement finally given to Satan
• Jesus description of Hell
• Luke 3:7 – wrath to come
• Matthew 25:41 – everlasting fire
• Matthew 8:12 – outer darkness, wailing & gnashing of teeth
• Matthew 13:42 – furnace of fire
• Mark 9:44 – worm does not die and the fire is not quenched
• Something worse than fire and outer darkness – separation from God

6. Revelation 20 Overview
• Verse 11-13
• Great white throne
• All the lost of all ages are raised to be judged – second resurrection
• Lost are given a fair hearing but nobody is saved – replay of the audio and video of your life!
• Verse 14-15
• Death – the great enemy of man is finally defeated
• No longer in Adam all die, in Christ we all live. (1 Corinthians 15:26, 55)
• Second death – eternal and absolute separation from God
• Unseen dead – divided into two compartments
• Jesus in the parable of the poor man & rich man who died, divided it into two ‘compartments’
• Divided into paradise and the place of torment (awaiting the judgement)
• Paradise emptied when Christ ascended
• Hades is the prison of lost souls
• Ephesians 4 – “…when he ascended he led captivity captive and gave gifts unto man..”

7. Our Response: Discerning God’s Plan
1. Principle of Relationship – Abiding in Christ. (John 15)
• Developing a ‘habit of the heart’ thru scripture, prayer, service
2. Principle of Willingness – a genuine willingness to obey God is a prerequisite
to knowing the will of God. (John 7:17)
3. Principle of Obedience – Parable of the Sower. (Mark 4)
• Not obedience of the mind, rather obedience of the heart!
4. Principle of Counsel – Iron sharpening Iron. (Proverbs 27:17)
• In community with wise counsel that know you, want the best for you,
filled with the HS, willing to tell you what you don’t want to hear
5. Principle of Action – Search and Rescue!

8. ACE Men’s Bible Study
Revelation
Spring Semester
2017