02.57. LECTURE No. 57 -- Rev_20:1-3
LECTURE No. 57 -- Revelation 20:1-3 The Book of Revelation Helps Us to Understand the Present World Crisis - Antichrist the False Prophet Will Be Cast Into the Lake of Fire - Satan Will Be Put Into the Bottomless Pit - The Different Names Used in the Bible to Denote Satan - The Downward Course Satan - Satan Is a Great Potentate - His Original Beauty and Power - It Was Pride Which Caused Satan to Fall - Satan Tempted Adam and Eve - He Also Tempted Christ, and Likewise Tempts All of Us - Satan Will Be Cast Down to the Earth - This Will Be the Chief Cause of the Great Tribulation - The Lake of Fire Will Be Satan’s Final Doom - What We Should Do
The Crisis of Christ’s Second Coming
MANY people do not realize it but the world crisis which is now upon us is nothing more or less than the impending crisis of Christ’s second coming. The Book of Revelation is the one outstanding Book in the Bible which deals with this important subject. This book, as no other book in the Bible, not only tells us that Christ is coming again but it tells us quite in detail of the terrible judgments which will be inflicted upon those who refuse to believe and obey the word of God. God help us, therefore, to give devout and prayerful attention to the things which are written in the Book of Revelation for our instruction and for our comfort.
Our last lesson was based upon Revelation 19:17-21. This passage speaks of the coming battle of Armageddon and of the doom of the beast and the false prophet. The Doom of the Antichrist and False Prophet As a result of the battle of Armageddon, in Revelation 19:20-21, it says,
“And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.”
We have already called your attention to the fact that the Battle of Armageddon will be the last great decisive conflict of the tribulation period and that it will be a supernatural conflict between the armies of heaven under the leadership of Christ, and the armies the earth under the leadership of Antichrist. The Doom of Satan Foretold
Now let us consider what is written in Revelation 20:1-3, where it says,
“And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 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.”
These rather unusual words have in them a lot of comfort to those of us who are Christians for they reveal without any uncertainty that the time is coming when Satan, who has been back of all of the world’s sin and rebellion and persecution of the saints of God, will be chained and shut up in prison for a thousand years, during which time he will not be able to trouble the hearts of men and cause them pain and suffering as he has done during the past six thousand years. We should rejoice, therefore, for this prophetic announcement as to how God will yet deal with him who is the cause of all evil.
Only two personalities are brought to our attention in this passage; namely, that of the angel and Satan himself. The Mighty Angel
There seems to be no way of determining just who the angel is for no name or rank is given in our lesson text. The thought, therefore, is that this angel, whatever his name or rank might be, will be stronger than Satan, which fact will enable him to take Satan and bind him and cast him into the bottomless pit.
At first thought such a thing seems incredible, for as we look into the history of the past and into the Word of God and see what Satan, by his power and influence has been able to do, we marvel that he will become so weak that an angel, perhaps an ordinary angel, will be able to chain him and put him into prison. But that, my friends, is exactly what will happen! Therefore, even though we are sore troubled now, we can rest in hope until this glorious event be accomplished to the glory of God and the good of the people of the whole earth. The Names of Satan
It is interesting to note that in our lesson text, four different names are used to describe this evil personage whom the angel will bind and cast into the bottomless pit. This is confirmed in Revelation 20:2, where it says, “And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan bound him a thousand years.”
The word “dragon” indicates the hideous, murderous character of Satan. The fact that he was called the “serpent” indicates that he is a deceiver.
The word “devil” means that he is a slanderer, and we know this is true because elsewhere in the Word he is called the “accuser of the brethren.” The word “Satan” indicates that he is the great adversary of God and that he is also opposed to Jesus Christ the Son of God, and that he is the enemy of God’s people.
Thus, in these four words, we have a word picture of Satan, which all of us should look upon with fear and trembling. The History of Satan
I know of nothing that would be more helpful in our present study than for us to consider the origin and history and final doom of this supernatural being, which is called in our lesson text, “the dragon, the serpent, the Devil, and Satan.”
It is my conviction that while we have been zealous to teach men concerning the origin and the nature and person and history and the works and future glories of the true Christ, we have neglected too many times to teach people concerning the origin, nature, person, history and works and final doom of Satan. If the one is necessary, the other is necessary also, for if we would escape from our enemy we must of necessity, know something about him, and about the ways which he uses to deceive and to ensnare and trap men in order to bring them into his power and under his control.
Because many people do not understand the scriptural teaching concerning Satan, they are ready to deny that there is any such thing as a personal Devil. They are wont to look upon the subject as if Satan were only a principle of evil or an evil influence. Our convictions upon this important subject should not be based, however, upon the opinions of men, but rather upon the Word of God.
Not only is he called the dragon, the serpent, the Devil and Satan, but he is known elsewhere in the Word under the names of Lucifer, Beelzebub, Belial, and adversary.
Satan a Great Ruler That he is a great celestial potentate is confirmed in Ephesians 2:2 where he is spoken of as “the prince of the powers of the air.” In 2 Corinthians 4:4, he is called “the god of this world,” (or age, which means that he is the god of present world systems during the present age).
We must not think for one moment that Satan is more powerful than the Lord Himself, for this is not true, and all the power which he has is under the permissive will of God.
We must not forget, however, that Satan is the ruler of the powers of darkness of this world. This is confirmed in Ephesians 6:11-12, where the Apostle Paul said, “Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” From the Highest Heaven to the Lowest Hell
If we trace the history of Satan through the scriptures we shall discover that his course is constantly downward, from the highest heaven to the lowest hell, as we shall see.
We do not know a great deal about the origin of Satan, but we have every reason to believe that he was a created being, and that before his fall he was very beautiful, very powerful and highly exalted. In Ezekiel 28:11-19 we have a very interesting passage wherein the prophet has given to us a foreview of the coming Antichrist under the title of the “king of Tyrus.” We know from the scriptures that Satan will incarnate himself in the Antichrist. Incidentally, therefore, the prophet describes to us here Satan’s original glory from which he fell. We know this is true, because there has never been as yet a king of Tyrus such as the one described here.
Satan’s Original Beauty In Ezekiel 28:11-17 it says,
“Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and wast perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, the sardius, topaz, and the diamond, the beryl, the onyx, and the jasper, the sapphire, the emerald, and the carbuncle, and gold: the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created.
“Thou are the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee. By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.”
Thus, my friends, we see that in the beginning Satan was the anointed cherub that covereth; that is, that he was the guardian or protector of the throne of God.
Why Satan Fell The cause of Satan’s fall is clearly taught in Isaiah 14:12-14 where it says,
“How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.”
Indeed, my friends, it is not difficult to read between the lines in this passage and see that pride and self-will were the cause of Satan’s fall.
When Satan said, “I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High,” what was God’s answer to him?
God’s answer is recorded in Isaiah 14:15-17, where the Lord said,
“Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit. They that see thee shall narrowly look upon thee, and consider thee, saying, is this the man that made the earth to tremble, that did shake kingdoms; that made the world as a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof; that opened not the house of his prisoners?”
Thus, my friends, we see that it was Satan’s pride which caused him to fall and there is no doubt but what his presumptuous act in this regard was the reason why the pre-Adamite world became a chaos and was without form and void as described in the first chapter of Genesis.
Satan in the Garden of Eden
If this be true, it throws much light upon the fact that Satan was present in the Garden of Eden when order had been brought out of chaos and that he was there ready to tempt Adam and Eve by challenging the authority of God.
Satan Tempted Christ Also
You will also remember that in Matthew 4:8-9, when Jesus was in the wilderness of temptation, Satan assumed an attitude of supremacy over Christ when he offered to Him the kingdoms of this world. In Matthew 4:8-9, it says:
“Again, the devil taketh him up into an exceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them; And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.”
Satan Is Not Bound Yet
Many people have the idea that Satan is now in hell and that he rules there as king over a host of evil spirits, but this is far from being the truth. In Job 2:1-2, there is a very interesting passage which says,
“Again there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them to present himself before the Lord. And the Lord said unto Satan, From whence comest thou, And Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it.”
Thus, my friends we see that in Job’s time Satan was not in hell but rather had liberty upon the earth and at the same time had access to God. Even today he is described in Ephesians 2:2 as “the prince of the power of the air.”
Satan Will Be Cast Down to the Earth In Revelation 12:7-12 there is a very interesting passage which reveals that Satan will eventually be cast out of the atmospheric heavens down to the earth. It says,
“And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.
“And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night. And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.
“Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.” The Great Tribulation When Satan is cast out of the heavens unto the earth, this will be the chief cause for the coming time of tribulation. The personal presence of Satan upon the earth in the state of anger in which he will be at that time will bring about a time of tribulation, the like of which the world has never seen.
We know that there can be no lasting peace for the earth until the Antichrist and the false prophet have been cast into the lake of fire, and Satan himself shall have been cast into the bottomless pit.
The manner in which Satan will be cast into the bottomless pit is described in our lesson text in Revelation 20:1-3, where it says,
“And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations m more, till the thousand years should b fulfilled: and after that he must loosed a little season.”
The final doom of Satan is given in Revelation 20:7-10 where it says,
“And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nation which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went up on the breadth of the earth and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
Thus, my friends, in our message, we have sought to trace for you from the scriptures the origin, the history, downfall and final doom of Satan, which I trust has been instructive and helpful.
We want to conclude our message therefore, in the language of the Apostle Peter, recorded in 1 Peter 5:6-11, where it says,
“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you. Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
“But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”
~ end of lecture 57 ~