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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city He loves. But fire came down from Heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Revelation 20:7-10
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
I saw an angel coming down out of Heaven, having the key to the Abyss and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time. Revelation 20:1-3
In the opening verses of Revelation, chapter 20, we read about the imprisonment of Satan by a powerful angel dispatched by God from Heaven. After the angel bound up the devil with “a great chain”, he “threw him into the Abyss” before locking and sealing it so to prevent any further “deceiving” of “the nations”.
Now it’s important to remember that this incarceration was only temporary for the scriptures tell us that Satan would only be held until the thousand year reign over the earth by Jesus had ended. Then, the devil “must be set free for as short time”.
As we turn to our passage for today, we pick up with that moment when Satan is let loose to wreak havoc one final time. Look again at verses 7 through 10 of this chapter:
When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number, they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city He loves.
But fire came down from Heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
Here, we read where the devil is “released from his prison” and immediately goes “out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth” with the specific purpose of gathering “them for battle”. The forces he gained were huge for the scriptures tell us they numbered similar to “the sand on the seashore”. This army, led by Satan, “marched across the breadth of the earth” to encircle “the camp of God’s people” who were together in Jerusalem, “the city He loves”.
Perhaps this looked like a harrowing, perilous situation on the surface but God was about to eliminate His primary enemy once and for all. For we read where “fire came down from Heaven and devoured” all the fighting forces who had been deceived by Satan. Then, “the devil was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur” to join the “beast and the false prophet”. Together, they all would “be tormented day and night forever and ever”.
All and all, it was a decisive, triumphant day for the world as God displayed His absolute supremacy, once and for all. And with that, the stage is set for the final judgment of the people, living and dead, and eternal assignments to either Heaven or Hell.
We’ll pick up with that in tomorrow’s message.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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