Chapter Twenty

The Triumph of Christ: Victory Over Satan

20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

The bottomless pit is nothing more than the symbolic home of Satan. It is the symbolic source of all things that are evil, especially Satan and his demons. We have already seen it mentioned on three separate occasions in Revelation. In chapter nine it was spoken of as the place of origin of the great swarm of locusts, which was the Islamic hordes that ravaged the eastern and southern thirds of the old Roman Empire. These people followed a false religion and were therefore the workers of Satan. This is why they are pictured as coming from the place where he lives. In verse eleven of that chapter, he is even spoken of as the “angel of the bottomless pit,” this shows that it is his dominion.

In chapter eleven Satan is pictured as coming out of the bottomless pit to try to destroy the Bible. And in chapter seventeen the beast, which was Satan’s tool, is seen to ascend out of the bottomless pit, showing that it also originated from where Satan is. Now in chapter twenty we find the bottomless pit to be the place where Satan is to be incarcerated. It is not as though he will be taken somewhere and locked up, he will in essence be locked up at home.

When Satan rebelled against God and was cast out of Heaven, he, along with the angels who sided with him, were cast down to the earth (Luke 10:18). Another passage says God “spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment” (II Peter 2:4). To angels, who once inhabited Heaven, this earth must certainly be a very terrible place to live. After all, if Heaven is supposed to be such a great step up from the earth for man, likewise it must be just as large a step downward for the angels. So Satan was cast to the earth and was for a time free to move about and do what he chose to do.

But there is to be a time in history when Satan will be chained and locked up in the bottomless pit. Obviously this is not meant literally. First of all, Satan is a spirit and cannot be bound by a literal chain. The term chain has often been used in the Bible to denote symbolic bondage. “Therefore pride compasseth them about as a chain; violence covereth them as a garment” (Psalm 73:6). This usage was even applied to the fallen angels by two different writers, Peter and Jude. “For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment” (II Peter 2:4). “And the angels which kept not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day” (Jude 1:6). Here in Revelation we see another symbolic use of the term showing bondage, albeit not in a physical way.

Secondly, what is a bottomless pit? If it has no bottom then we would not call it a pit. We talk of a piece of metal which had been eaten by rust as pitted. We talk of dirt pits and other kinds of pits. But when something has a hole all the way through it we no longer call it a pit. Do donuts have pits? Or what about beads? If someone dug a deep hole in the ground you could call it a pit. But what if that person was able to dig the hole so deep it went all the way through the earth? What would you call it? A hole perhaps, or even a tunnel. But when you looked through it and saw the sky or stars on the other side you certainly would not call it a pit. The bottomless pit is just a symbolic term used to describe Satan’s imprisonment.

Obviously the deeper a pit is the more difficult it would be to escape from. So if anyone became very closely associated with Satan, and since he lives in a bottomless pit, they would have a very difficult, if not impossible, time getting away from him if they chose to do so. Perhaps this is what Christ had in mind when He said “But unto you I say, and unto the rest in Thyatira, as many as have not this doctrine, and which have not known the depths of Satan, as they speak; I will put upon you none other burden” (Revelation 2:24). Anyone who is as intimate with Satan as the great whore of Rome will never escape the enormous depths of Satan’s bottomless pit.

If Satan cannot be bound by the items mentioned in this verse, then what can bind him? The answer is actually quite simple. The only way someone can escape from Satan is to submit to God. And one submits to God by obeying His word. Thus it is the Bible which binds or restricts Satan. When someone respects and follows the Bible, Satan is powerless to fight against him. This was illustrated very well when Satan tempted Christ. Three times Satan tempted Christ to do something wrong, and three times Christ answered him with scripture (Mark 4). Satan was powerless to do anything to Christ because He followed the word of God. The key to the bottomless pit then, is the Bible. When the Bible is respected by the world, Satan will be restricted and unable to operate freely. He will be “chained up” in his bottomless pit and unable to have the effect on the world he would desire to have.

We also find here that an angel came “down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit.” I believe we have already seen this very same thing occur earlier in Revelation. Back in chapter ten we saw an angel come down from heaven to deliver the Bible to the people. “And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: and he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth.” This started the Reformation and ultimately broke the papacy’s power. The papacy was the most powerful weapon Satan has ever had against God’s people. So as the Bible began to have more influence Satan began to be restricted or bound. He was not actually locked up, far from it, he was just as active as ever. It is just that during this time many people respected God’s word and would no longer yield to Satan’s temptations.

20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

“The dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan” are all terms that refer to the same being, the fallen cherub Lucifer. We see that Satan is to be bound for a period of one-thousand years. There is absolutely no basis for assuming that this is meant to be a period of exactly one-thousand years. First of all, everything else in this chapter seems to be figurative, so how could we rationalize taking this one item as literal? Nowhere in Revelation have we thus far seen a time period given literally. Everywhere else in Revelation where a specific time period was intended we have always seen it given in terms of a day for a year. If that were used here we would have a period of 360,000 years! Obviously this cannot be right. So what is intended here?

As we have seen previously, the Bible often uses a nice “round” number like this as a general term of indefiniteness. In other words, it is a ballpark figure used to refer to a large quantity. This “ballpark” figure will not be exactly the same as the actual number, but is just intended to convey the magnitude of that number. There are literally dozens of examples in the Bible where one-thousand is used as an indefinite number. It is used where the true value of something is large but difficult or impossible to determine exactly.

One good example of this is found in the book of Psalms. God said, “every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills” (Psalm 50:10). Obviously there are more than one-thousand hills in the world that have cattle upon them. Are we to believe that the cattle on hill one-thousand one are not the Lord’s? What about hill number one-thousand two? Certainly this verse does not intend to restrict the Lord’s ownership to just one-thousand hills. And what happens as cattle move off a hill onto level ground, or elsewhere a herd moves onto a hill? This number would be constantly changing. Here the number one-thousand is merely given to indicate a very large number, the exact value of which we do not know, and do not need to know for that matter.

Another example can also be found in the book of Psalms. “He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations” (Psalms 105:8). Considering that a generation is conservatively taken to be twenty years, one-thousand generations would be twenty-thousand years. Quite clearly this did not literally happen.

In the first example the number one-thousand was used to indicate a large number which happened to be greater than one-thousand but whose exact value is unknown and constantly changes. In the second example the number one-thousand was used to represent a large number which happened to be smaller than one-thousand. So we see that it can be used for large numbers whose actual values are larger or smaller than one-thousand.

Here are a few other examples where thousand is used and is almost certainly meant to simply convey magnitude and not an exact number. “And five of you shall chase an hundred, and an hundred of you shall put ten thousand to flight: and your enemies shall fall before you by the sword” (Leviticus 26:8). “(The Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and bless you, as he hath promised you!)” (Deuteronomy 1:11). “One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the Lord your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you” (Joshua 23:10). “And they that did eat were four thousand men, beside women and children” (Matthew 15:38). There are, of course, many other passages where the term is used in exactly the same way.

The meaning of the number here in Revelation is that there is to be a long period of time throughout which Satan will be bound. This period may be longer or shorter than one-thousand years, but will be of the same general magnitude.

20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season.

Here we are given a key to determining when this thousand year period is to be. When Satan is shut up he will no longer be able to deceive the nations. But we also find that he is to be released from his captivity in the bottomless pit for a little while after the thousand years is over. In verse one, we said the Bible is the key to the bottomless pit, it is what will restrict and bind Satan. We now have a problem. If the Bible is the thing that binds Satan, then how is it that while the Bible exists Satanis to be loosed? Will the Bible disappear? Certainly that will not happen.

Then how can Satan be loosed with the Bible still present if it is really what binds him? The fact that the Bible exists means nothing. The Bible’s existence is not what binds Satan, but its people’s use of and respect for it that restricts him. Simply owning a copy of the Bible does not make a person a Christian, nor does it hinder Satan. In the case of someone who is following the Bible, Satan is restricted in what he can do to that person. That person, knowing the righteousness of God, will not easily fall prey to Satan’s enticements. So Satan will be bound in the world as long as the world respects and heeds the Bible, and will be loosed when men lose respect for the Bible and cease to heed it.

For Satan to be bound it is not required that every person in the world actually become Christians. You could have the same percentage of Christians in the world regardless of whether Satan is bound or not. The difference is in the attitudes of those who aren’t Christians. Satan will be bound when most people respect the principles of morality and godliness found in the Bible. They may not be Christians, but they do not allow themselves to run wild with sin. In short, Christian values prevail even among those who are not truly Christians. Satan is restricted by the people’s morality and respect for the Bible. But when people lose respect for the Bible, and become immoral and ungodly, Satan is loosed on the world, and has a much easier time of enticing them to follow his sinful ways.

We now need to examine history and see when this period of time was, if it has already occurred. If we go back to the first century we find that, first of all, the Bible was yet to be canonized. Secondly, the world was far from accepting Christian values to any degree. By the late second century the books of the New Testament had essentially been collected and were in use in a few places. But, once again, the world was still far from accepting Christian values.

In the early fourth century Christianity was made the official religion of the Roman Empire. But as Christian values began to spread so did the apostasy of the Church. Copies of the New Testament were very hard to come by, which left most of the average people in ignorance, except for what they were taught by the clergy. As Christian values began to spread so did Satan’s deception. The hierarchy of the Catholic Church began to take shape, and through this evil institution Satan deceived the nations of the world for centuries. In chapter thirteen we were given a description of two beasts, the papacy and the Holy Roman Empire. Satan used these tools to deceive the world. “And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast; saying to them that dwell on the earth, that they should make an image to the beast, which had the wound by a sword, and did live” (Revelation 13:14). Just as the Bible was beginning to enlighten the world Satan managed to deceive them through his trickery. A statement in chapter eighteen also serves to reinforce this point. “For by thy sorceries were all nations deceived” (Revelation 18:23). This obviously shows us that Satan was not bound during this period of time. He was free and working hard to destroy true Christianity. Satan’s church was the master of the Western world. God’s Church was in hiding in the wilderness for 1,260 years. So who was reigning on the earth?

The nations remained deceived until the time of the Reformation. Back in chapter ten we saw an angel come down from Heaven to deliver the Bible to the common people. The invention of the printing press made possible for the first time the printing of large quantities of Bibles at relatively cheap prices. As people gained access to the Bible, many began to see through Satan’s deceitful scam. This lit the fires of religious discontent that eventually embroiled all of Europe in war and revolution. In the first half of the sixteenth century, during a six year period, four nations that had previously been devoutly Catholic, turned against the papacy. England in 1534, Norway and Denmark in 1536, and Sweden in 1540. This is clear evidence that the nations were beginning to see through Satan’s deception. It is not just that a few kings became angry with the pope and decided to break away from Rome. If there had not already been a good deal of discontent with the papacy among the citizens only a very foolhardy monarch would have dared to disturb such a unifying force among his people.

During this time many men throughout Europe preached strict adherence to the Bible. Several of these men died as convicted heretics at the hands of the Catholics because of their teachings. Teachings that opposed the official position of the Catholic Church. By the nineteenth century the Bible was held in high esteem by the majority of men. Morality was something to be practiced, not just talked about. Honor meant something, and a man’s word or his handshake were as good or better than a signed contract today. Certainly there was sin in the world, the vast majority still refused to submit to God and live as Christians. But nevertheless, that majority now lived, for the most part, by Bible principles. Satan no longer had the nations deceived. His alliance between the papacy and the nations of the world had been shattered. He lost a very powerful and important tool that he had used to dupe the nations for centuries. He was now bound in the bottomless pit because the key to that pit, the Bible, had been loosed.

“And set a seal upon him.” The Bible acted as a seal upon Satan. As long as the seal was intact Satan was bound. In other words, as long as the world respected the Bible, Satan would be severely limited in the success of his operations. We will give the year 1400 as a starting point for this thousand year period. This choice is somewhat arbitrary, because there is no specific event from which to date this period. Certainly the roots of the Reformation reach back long before 1400, but it was about this time that the movement began to pick up a little steam. You might say this was when the chain was slipped around Satan, and as the decades passed it was tightened up until he was firmly bound by the nineteenth century.

When did, or will, this period end? The end of this period will be when Satan is loosed and allowed to once again go out and deceive the nations. His deception will not be the same this time, however, since the papacy had been rendered useless to him. This time he must find another way. The seven-headed beast we have seen throughout Revelation is a depiction of the seven world powers Satan has used against God’s people for a period of nearly four-thousand years. Since there are no more heads I think it is safe to assume that this time Satan will not use some great nation or power to oppress God’s people. Satan was very persistent in using this tactic, but I think he has finally realized that it simply will not work. He can afflict, but never destroy God’s people with this approach. What will he use then? I think it will be something very simple but effective. Satan will not use some great power to try to annihilate God’s power and influence over men, but rather he will use widespread sin and iniquity.

From examining the world around us today, it appears that Satan has already been loosed. It is quite apparent that the Bible no longer has the respect of the average person. Premarital sex, divorce, abortion, homosexuality, and many other sinful practices are either condoned or openly embraced by most “civilized” societies today. There are also many very evil but popular movements in the world today which seem to gain momentum every day. Abortion, feminism, gay rights, evolution and many other ideas are reshaping the way the average person is oriented. All of these ideas, and their corresponding movements, have caused the world to move away from God and the teachings of the Bible. These ideas are accepted by most governments and most “intelligent” or “educated” men. Someone is considered backward, old-fashioned or just plain stupid if he does not go along with these modern trends. With these tools Satan has once again deceived the nations. The Dark Ages had the papacy, the twentieth century had evolution, feminism, gay rights and abortion.

No longer do people respect the values of the Bible, but the values of so-called “equality” where everyone is considered equal regardless of how immoral their lives may be. What used to be considered shameful and sinful is now just an “alternative lifestyle.” Satan has managed to warp the minds of the general populous thereby causing great hardship for those who would live godly. It is very clear that the world no longer pays any attention to the Bible. And most so-called “Christian” denominations have also lost their respect for the Bible, if they ever had any. The Bible has been replaced by creed books, manuals, councils, and conventions as the source of highest spiritual authority. The seal has been broken, and Satan is once again free to roam about deceiving the nations at his leisure.

Back in the eighteenth century when the United States was founded, the framers of the constitution insured that the citizens of the new country would have freedom of religion. They made what has turned out to be a very large mistake in their wording, however. We saw that as the French Revolution began even the most vehement opponents of the papacy accepted the certainty of France remaining a Roman Catholic state. Their goal was to lessen the power of the papacy in the internal affairs of France. It seems everyone was fooled by what really happened. Likewise, our founding fathers were fooled with what has happened with religion in this country. Having come from a Europe still embroiled with religious persecution and controversy, their intent was to insure that whatever form of Christianity a person professed he could follow it to his heart’s desire without fear of government intervention. The one thing they did take for granted, however, was a Christian state. They desperately wanted to avoid any form of national religion as had been the case in the countries they came from. That is, they did not want Catholicism, Lutheranism or any other –ism to be favored by the government. However, they did expect the country and the government to be Christian in every aspect. Today, unfortunately, prayer has been banned in schools, the pledge of allegiance is under attack for the phrase “One nation, under God,” even the phrase “in God we trust” on our money is being challenged. Our founding fathers would certainly cringe to see the state of affairs today. The phrase “separation of church and state” is not found in the constitution, nor was it ever implied. Freedom of religion has, much to our disgrace, become freedom FROM religion.

Since it appears obvious that the “little season” has begun, the next question is when did the thousand year period end and the “little season” begin? Just by looking at the way the world has changed in its respect for the Bible and in its concept of morality, we can establish a period of time when Satan was loosed. Prior to World War II, the world seemed to still be in descent spiritual shape. World War I and the Great Depression had left their marks on the world, and had actually caused many people to turn to God for help. But sometime after World War II, when the world began to prosper economically as never before, something changed. The material blessings that people enjoyed seemed to turn them away from God. It is exactly the situation which God warned Israel about in the long ago. “For the Lord thy God bringeth thee into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and depths that spring out of valleys and hills; a land of wheat, and barley, and vines, and fig trees, and pomegranates; a land of oil olive, and honey; a land wherein thou shalt eat bread without scarceness, thou shalt not lack any thing in it; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills thou mayest dig brass. When thou hast eaten and art full, then thou shalt bless the Lord thy God for the good land which he hath given thee. Beware that thou forget not the Lord thy God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command thee this day: lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; and when thy herds and thy flocks multiply, and thy silver and thy gold is multiplied, and all that thou hast is multiplied; then thine heart be lifted up, and thou forget the Lord thy God, which brought thee forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage” (Deuteronomy 8:7-14).

By the 1960’s things had changed drastically. Drugs were very prevalent among the youth. It was the age of “free love,” which meant nothing more than widespread fornication. Feminism and evolution were beginning to have great impacts on society. Abortion was soon to be legalized in America. During a few short years Western civilization collapsed morally. And I believe without a doubt, that we see Satan being loosed during this period. As morality declined, so did respect for the Bible. This allowed Satan to operate much more freely and have a much greater impact on the world.

I also believe we can tie this in with another prophesy which concerns this time period. For over 1,500 years the Jews were God’s people. He cared for and protected them for centuries. After they had accomplished their mission, bringing the Savior into the world, God once again punished them for their sins. After allowing forty years for those who would, to become Christians, in A.D. 70 He allowed the Romans to destroy Jerusalem and scatter the Jews across most of the known world.

In Acts chapter ten we find a record of the first Gentile converts. The Jews as a whole had rejected Christ, and the Gentiles soon became the dominant group within the Church. After the destruction of Jerusalem, the age of the Gentiles had truly begun. From this point on, God blessed the Gentile world as He once had done for the Jews. This is why the Western world prospered above everyone else. But the Apostle Paul spoke of a time to come when the Jew’s fortunes would change. “For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in” (Romans 11:25). Fullness is from the Greek word “pleroma,” which Strong’s defines as “repletion or completion, i.e. (subjectively) what fills (as contents, supplement, copiousness, multitude), or (objectively) what is filled (as container, performance, period):-which is put in to fill up, piece that filled up, fulfilling, full, fullness.”[1] The phrase “come in” is from the Greek word “eiserchomai,” which Strong’s defines as “to enter (literally or figuratively):-X arise, come (in, into), enter in (-to), go in (through).”[2] This is to be a period when the Gentiles are to dominate and the Jews will turn a blind eye to their Savior. But, eventually, this period will be completed and the Jews will return to an equal footing with the Gentiles.

In a warning to Gentiles Paul also said, “Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: for if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee” (Romans 11:20-21). This is exactly what we see in the twentieth century. The Gentiles as a whole have turned away from God, and the Jews have been allowed to reform into a nation in Palestine. All of this does not mean that the Jews will rise to supremacy over the Gentile nations. They have yet to turn to God, so they do not deserve such an exaltation. The only real change is that the Jews, which had been scattered for nearly 1,900 years have been allowed to return home. The time when Gentiles would be blessed above the Jews has come to an end. When the Church first began, most Jews rejected Christ, despite the many prophesies which foretold of His coming. Many Gentiles, not having the benefit of these prophesies, accepted Christ. So because the Gentiles demonstrated more faith than God’s own people, He rejected them and scattered them among the Gentile nations. But now the Gentiles have fallen to such a low state there is no longer a significant difference between them and the Jews. Therefore, there is no rationale for continuing to bless the Gentiles above the Jews. Both are ungodly and have a need to repent.

Christ gave us an indication as to when this age of the Gentiles was to come to an end. “And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled” (Luke 21:24). Times is from the Greek word “kairos,” which Strong’s defines as “an occasion, i.e. set or proper time:-X always, opportunity, (convenient, due) season, (due, short, while) time, a while.”[3] Fulfilled is from the Greek word “pleroo,” which Strong’s defines as “to make replete, i.e. (literally) to cram (a net), level up (a hollow), or (figuratively) to furnish (or imbue, diffuse, influence), satisfy, execute (an office), finish (a period or task), verify (or coincide with a prediction), etc.:-accomplish, X after, (be) complete, end, expire, fill (up), fulfil, (be, make) full (come), fully preach, perfect, supply.”[4] From these definitions we get the idea that the opportunities of the Gentiles will eventually expire. And this is what we are looking for to identify the beginning of the little season. It appears the two are synonymous. As the Gentiles, for the most part, turn away from God, He will turn back to the Jews, and Satan will be loosed.

Christ dated the end of the time of the Gentiles by linking it with the return of the Jews to Jerusalem. During the late 1800’s many Jews began to return to Palestine in the hopes of establishing a homeland there. In 1948 they were strong enough to declare an independent Jewish state. The next day after declaring independence, they were attacked by Arab forces whom they defeated. When Israel was formed in 1948 only the western half of Jerusalem was controlled by the Jews. There were subsequent wars with the Arabs in 1956, 1967, and 1973. In the 1967 war, Israel captured East Jerusalem along with other territory. This marked the end of Gentile control of Jerusalem. Thus the age of the Gentiles has come to an end, and this is because they have turned away from God. The reason I believe these two prophesies coincide, is because the cause which brings both of them about, is the same thing, the Gentiles turning away from God. When the Gentiles turn away from God, this signifies the end of the thousand year period, and the beginning of the “little season.” At the same time, the Gentile’s turn from God marks the end of the age of the Gentiles. This allows us to get a fairly precise end point for the thousand year period. So we have it extending from 1400 to 1948, from the beginning of the Reformation to the establishment of the Jewish state of Israel in Palestine.

It is easy to see why an indefinite period of time was used to describe Satan’s binding. The beginning point was somewhat ambiguous, and could vary several decades from where we have placed it, depending on the person looking at it. The Reformation began slowly and there is no defining event to mark its official start. Satan was not completely bound in a day, but literally over a period of several decades, and the chains continued to be tightened for centuries. Fortunately, the end point was not as difficult to pin down. There was a clear cut event that marked the time when Satan was loosed.

There is another item we can look at that will reinforce what we have already said. We have already found that the Bible is the key to the bottomless pit. It is what has the power to hinder and impede Satan’s work. We also saw previously that the Bible had basically been taken from the earth. It was still in existence, but the Catholic Church made sure that no one but the clergy had access to it. That way they could keep the people in ignorance and teach them whatever they chose without fear of dissension. But we saw in chapter ten that the Bible was brought back to the earth, this was what started the Reformation. “And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: and he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth” (Revelation 10:1-2). This reaffirms the idea that the thousand year period began around the year 1400. It was about this time that the Bible began to have an effect on the world, and Satan began to be bound. The angel that John saw deliver the Bible in chapter ten is the same angel who bound Satan. In fact the two events are synonymous. Chapters ten and twenty describe the exact same events, they just show their impact on two different things. Chapter ten showed the impact on the papacy, whereas chapter twenty shows the impact on Satan himself.

The period from 1789 to 1948 is represented by the letter written to the Church at Philadelphia. There is a part of that letter which fits very appropriately into our present discussion. Christ speaks of the Jews in this letter, which I believe, further justifies the tying together of the two prophesies we just discussed. “Behold, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee. Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth” (Revelation 3:9-10).

“Them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie,” refers to the Jews. The reason the statement is made this way, is that although they claimed to be Jews, and ethnically they actually were Jews, they denied both by the way they lived. They did not follow the Law of Moses as a Jew should. Thus they were actually of the “synagogue of Satan.” They were not God’s people, but were servants of Satan. Christ says He will make the Jews “come and worship before thy feet.” In other words the Jews are to “worship” before the feet of the Gentiles. Worship is from the Greek word “proskuneo,” which Strong’s defines as “(meaning to kiss, like a dog licking his master’s hand); to fawn or crouch to, i.e. (literally or figuratively) prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore):-worship.”[5] The period of Philadelphia was one of the two which had nothing bad said about it. God was very pleased with His people, and the Gentile world as a whole, during this time. He caused the Jews to be put into a position which forced them to “worship” the gentile nations. Had it not been for the United Nations, and Great Britain in particular, the Arabs would have certainly destroyed Israel as soon as it was formed in 1948. Throughout this period Israel owed its very survival to the Western world. But soon after the end of this period, when the age of the Gentiles was over, Israel had become strong enough to protect itself from its enemies without direct intervention from the West.

Another important question that needs to be addressed is how long is this “little season” of Satan’s loosing supposed to last? I do not believe the Bible answers this question for us, and probably for good reason. Satan will no doubt be loose until the end of the world. So if we knew how long this period of time was to be, then we would know approximately when the world was to end, and that is something we are not meant to know. “But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only” (Matthew 24:36). So in this case the lack of information actually tells us a lot. It tells us that Satan will be loose, and that sin and evil will prevail, until the end of the world.

20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them.” It is not readily apparent who “they” are who are to occupy these thrones of judgment. It is the wording of the King James translation which makes this appear so unclear. The Revised Standard Version renders this sentence as, “Then I saw thrones, and seated on them were those to whom judgment was committed.” This still does not identify the occupants of the thrones, but the sentence does make more sense.

Those on the thrones were likely the twenty-four elders seen several times before in Revelation. In speaking to His apostles Christ once said, “Verily I say unto you, ‘That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel’” (Matthew 19:28). If we know the twelve apostles are to be here, then it is safe to assume that the twelve patriarchs are with them, sine they have been seen together several times now, but never separate.

John also saw those who had been martyred for Christ, as well as those who had managed to escape the evil influence of the beast and his image, and had never received his mark. These people were righteous and fit to reign with Christ for a thousand years.

When it speaks of these people reigning with Christ it obviously does not refer to people physically reigning with Christ on the earth. First of all, we know that those who were beheaded are no longer alive. Secondly, no person could live through the 500 plus year period under consideration. This should be no surprise to us anyway, since Christ’s kingdom is spiritual and not physical. “Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence” (John 18:36). Those who are to reign with Christ are to do so spiritually. Although they will all die physically they will live on with Christ and continue to reign with Him in His Kingdom.

Christ spoke of men who had died, and although having never been resurrected, were alive. “But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Matthew 22:31-32). These three men had all died, but yet were still alive. Likewise, those who died in the Lord after the establishment of the Church, continue to live even after their physical deaths.

Christ said, “He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24). Thus showing that someone is made alive, or is resurrected, when he becomes a Christian. Physically nothing changes, but the spirit of a man, which was previously dead in sin, comes alive in Christ.

Jesus further said, “He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me” (John 6:56-57). A Christian dwells in Christ and Christ dwells in that person. Of course this does not happen physically, but speaks of the communion of man’s spirit with Christ’s Spirit. This is not affected when a person dies physically. Thus a person can continue to live and reign with Christ even after they die physically. Much more could be said, but it should be quite apparent by now that a person need not be alive physically to “live and reign” with Christ.

We now need to discuss what it means for Christ to “reign” in his Kingdom. The Kingdom is the Church and has been in existence since A.D. 30, and it will continue in existence for ever. After the end of the world it will not end, but will simply be transplanted to Heaven. From its inception Christ has reigned supreme in His Kingdom. No one can threaten His position of superiority over His Church.

In chapter twelve we found that Christ was to “rule all nations with a rod of iron.” It is normally assumed that this is just another reference to His reign over his Kingdom. But allow me to suggest that Christ’s reign over His Kingdom and His reign over the nations are two completely separate things.

Then what is His rule over the nations? It certainly does not refer to a literal earthly rule but rather implies a domination of the nations by Christ. This is done throughout the influence of the Bible and the Church. They both spread Christian ideals and principles among all nations and thereby have a tremendous impact on them. This causes Christ’s influence to be greater than anyone else’s. By this He is said to rule all nations. But for a long span of time during the Dark Ages the Church was in hiding and the Bible prophesied in sackcloth. Christ’s influence was therefore very minimal. He cannot truly be said to have been ruling the nations at that time. If anyone was ruling the nations at that time it was the “god of this world,” Satan (II Corinthians 4:4). At that time his influence was greater. He had deceived the nations with the papacy and had a strangle hold on the entire world.

This period of time when Christ ruled was alluded to in chapter fourteen. “Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth: Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them” (Revelation 14:13). As we said back in chapter fourteen this period of time is unparalleled in the history of the Church. After the fall of the papacy the Church experienced a period of unprecedented peace and prosperity, particularly in America. In this sense also, those who live after the fall of spiritual Rome are blessed. They are privileged to live in the golden age of the Lord’s Church.

It was not until the Reformation began that Christ’s influence started to spread and Satan’s to diminish. There cannot be two different sovereigns at the same time. One or the other will have the true power. From the beginning of the Church until the Reformation Satan enjoyed the upper hand. But from the Reformation, until the loosing of Satan, Christ had the upper hand. Now Satan has been able to reassert himself, and will remain dominant until he is finally cast down into the lake of fire. A very succinct way of summing it all up is this. Christ rules when the Bible rules. Christ is the Word of God, when it is respected, He is respected, when it is