This document outlines notes from an ACE Men's Bible Study on Revelation 20 during the Spring 2017 semester. It discusses three major views of the millennium mentioned in Revelation 20. It also summarizes each verse in Revelation 20, focusing on Satan being bound for 1000 years, the resurrection of Old Testament saints and Tribulation saints, and Satan's final judgment. The document concludes with principles for discerning God's plan: developing an abiding relationship with Christ through Scripture and prayer, being willing to obey, obeying from the heart, seeking wise counsel, and taking action through search and rescue.

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