Revelation 20:4-6 The Millenial Reign of Christ

Those who had victoriously refused to worship the wildbeast or his image or have his mark carved on their forehead or hand are resurrected in bodily form. They are given thrones symbolizing the authority with which they will co-reign with Christ for the Millennium. It may also be that the martyrs throughout the ages are included in this first resurrection. They will face no further judgment because their lives - faith and deeds - have already been judged and approved. 

          Revelation 20 appears to be the only explicit biblical mention of the thousand year reign of Christ before the final judgment. Other passages describe life in God's kingdom, but they are ambiguous as to whether these descriptions are during the 1,000 years or after the final judgment. A key question is who actually lives on the earth other than the martyrs. All who had rebelled against God were destroyed in the final battle. The wildbeast had hunted down and exterminated (martyred) all believers, so they now return with resurrected bodies. There are a few possibilities for ordinary mortals to populate the earth during the Millenium.

•    The 144,000 who were sealed (Rev. 7:4-8) and their descendants.

•    Perhaps  the wildbeast was unable to find and exterminate every single believer, and some survived in the flesh.

•    Perhaps some remote tribes or survivalist individuals lived apart from the world system and did not receive the mark of the wildbeast.

          Reigning as priests evokes the imagery of Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18, Hebrews 7:1-17). What is the difference between priests and shepherds? Jesus carries both offices. (Hebrews 3:1ff; John 10:11 ff) The pastoral office of shepherding God's people connotes guiding, leading, caring, mentoring, advising, etc. The role of performing sacred rites during the millennium suggests that humankind still will need and practice rituals during this era. Ruling as priests implies the authority with which these rituals are practiced. Does this also connote political power? Reigning with Christ likely includes exercising secular authority, although verse 8 suggests there are other political arrangements outside the priestly class of martyrs.

Revelation 20:1-3 The devil is bound

The battle concludes with the devil himself being captured and thrown into the prison of the abyss. His human proxies have been cast into the eternal lake of fire. Why he is bound in the abyss is something of a mystery. Perhaps there is something in God's eternal plan that makes use of the existence and actions of the tempter, to demonstrate to humans the fickleness of their devotion, or to sift the hearts of individual people. In any event, mankind will have 1,000 years of relief from his predations.

          We might wish that to apply this metaphorically to our lives, there would come a point in which the devil would be bound so that we would no longer be tempted. Alas, such is not our lot in this life. Perhaps, if we have been through cataclysmic tribulation (as many believers have through the ages), the devil's nature and character are an open book and we simply recognize his fingerprints. But as long as we are in the flesh and live in the world, and until the devil really is bound, he will camouflage his temptations in the ways of the world and the flesh. 

Revelation 19:17-21 The Last Battle

Revelation 19:17-19 An angel summoning birds to eat the carrion that will result from this cataclysmic battle seems almost for dramatic effect. The emphasis appears to be on the all-inclusiveness of the participants in the war against God. Everyone at all levels and in all walks of life assemble for battle. It appears that the insanity of the devil in thinking he can defeat God has been transmitted to those who live on the earth, folie a deux.

Revelation 19:20-21 We don't know how long the battle lasts; it sounds rather quick, and the outcome is certain. The wildbeast and the false prophet are thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. That this is metaphorical fire seems implied because they are not consumed, but rather condemned to unending torment. The rest of the army are killed and their bodies consumed by the birds as the angel had summoned them. What is the significance of burning sulfur (here and in Genesis 19:24)? The acrid odor of sulfur dioxide evokes volcanic activity, the lake of fire being compared to a cauldron of active, hot lava. The scene near the end of the Lord of the Rings, in which the ring that rules all others is undone only by being cast into the volcanic river of fire, probably should invoke the same reaction. Most of us only know sulfur dioxide in dilute quantities from industrial smokestacks, such as power plants or paper mills. But the stench of active volcanos is hideous. Such is the stench of man's sin before God and in His presence.

Revelation 19:10-16 Jesus unveiled

Revelation 19:10 John falls down to worship the angel, but the angel tells him to worship Jesus and gives a profound insight. Prophecy is not, at its core, about future events. The spirit (pneuma) of (this and all) prophecy is the witness (marturia) of Jesus. The book of Revelation is the unveiling of Jesus Christ. (Rev. 1:1) What of the Old Testament prophets, or the gift of prophecy in the New Testament? It is sometimes said that there are four themes of the writing prophets in the Old Testament: warnings about the situation and actions of the immediate hearers; ultimate judgment on Israel and Judah; the coming of Messiah; and the end times and establishment of God's kingdom in power on the earth. But all of these point to Jesus. The spirit of prophetic utterance about the immediate actions of the Old Testament Jews expresses the grief of Jesus over their unnecessary pain and separation from God. The spirit of prophecy when the captivity of Israel and Judah was discussed reflects the sorrow of Jesus over the necessity that God had to take such extreme measures to eliminate gross immorality from the lives and culture of His people. And this prophecy about the end times is the unveiling of Jesus Christ. Worship Him.

Revelation 19:11-16 Jesus the conqueror is now revealed. Although He is mostly spoken of as the Lamb earlier, we now see several attributes that are a little different, He does not appear particularly lamblike now. This unveiling of Christ shows the full spectrum of His worthiness.

•    He rides a white horse. (The true conqueror, not the usurper shown in Rev. 6:1-2) who conquered sin. (1 Corinthians 15:57)

•    He is called faithful and true. (The witness to Laodicea, Rev. 3:14, who has the true nature corresponding to His names)

•    He judges in righteousness. (In John 16:8 the Holy Spirit convicts the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment; in Rev. 16:5&7 Jesus is worshiped for the bowls of judgment that the angels pour out on rebellious mankind, because his judgments are righteous.)

•    He battles in righteousness. (Just war theories aside, before this battle recorded in Revelation, the only war in which God intervened in righteousness was recorded in Joshua, when Israel was fully submitted to God and the Canaanites were fully devoted to evil. And it wasn't really a war, but the annihilation of Sodom and Gomorrah emphasized the total depravity of those cultures. Genesis 18:20)

•    His eyes are a flame of fire. (Rev. 1:14, 2:18)

•    He wears many diadems on His head. (Contrast Rev 12:3, 13:1 - Jesus rightfully wears these crowns).

•    He has a name that only He knows written on Him. (This remains a mystery.)

•    He wears a robe dipped in blood. (Rev. 7:14 the saints washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb, but the blood of Jesus will be forever that which binds His people to Him in love. Hebrews 9:11-12)

•    His name is called the Word of God.  (John 1:1)

•    A sharp sword comes from His mouth. (Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12, Rev. 1:16, 2:16)

•    Another name, written on His robe and thigh, is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. (At least three Old Testament pretenders to this title are mentioned in Ezra 7:12, Daniel 2:37, and Ezekiel 26:7; but the title is properly reserved for Jesus, who rules over all earthly kings, c.f. 1 Timothy 6:15, Rev. 17:14, because He not only rules over all rulers, but also is the Master over all other masters in His role as the chief shepherd. 1 Peter 4:5)

The white clothing of the armies of Christ was mentioned above in Rev. 19:8. They are also on white horses as they have conquered sin in their own lives. But they do not tread the wine press of God's wrath. Jesus is the vintner who will also rule with a rod of iron. 

Revelation 18:21-19:9 Celebrate!

The celebration reiterates the deception of sorcery that was used to tempt believers and unbelievers (nations, peoples) alike, leaning on the devil's power, and the persecution of the faithful, in cahoots with the beast. The prayers of the multitude before the throne for justice over their blood (Rev. 6:9-11) have now been answered. The multitude rejoices. The twenty-four elders and the four living beings join in the worship. God Himself speaks from the throne enjoining all to join in. Then the multitude sings again, perhaps even a greater multitude, since it sounds like rushing waters and thunder, while first multitude worshiped with voice. It turns out that this worship service is the beginning of a wedding.

          The bride will wear white, but a particular kind of clean and shining cotton.  This is the legally declared just acts of the holy ones. Acts in this case seems unlikely to refer to simple abstention from sin, although that is implicit in the earlier commendation for coming out of the harlot and her wicked ways. The just actions most likely refer to deeds that were done, deeds that flow from doing justice, loving mercy, and walking in humility with the Lord. And throughout church history believers have cared for the sick, fed, clothed, and housed the poor, and stood up for the downtrodden. Charity did not begin or end with Mother Teresa, she was just the most well-known of her generation. Even the most humble and unknown caretaker serving in Jesus' name will be clothed in this same brilliant linen. There is a new beatitude, a special blessing of happiness, on those who are invited to this wedding, the same blessedness that Jesus gave in Matthew 5:3-11, and an affirmation that this blessing is from God. 

Revelation 18:9-20 Alas, Babylon!

Revelation 18:9-19 The very detailed description of all that the city, Babylon, meant to all the earth's inhabitants, and the depth of their grief at her destruction, reveals that the entire earth had been corrupted. One might wonder how people of the rest of the world would respond if the United States were destroyed in a nuclear war.  For all the vilification that is laid out in the media, envy appears to lie behind the response. Babylon is described as a great and strong city that is rich through economic activity. There was a trickle-down effect in the purchase of cargo from merchants from the rest of the world. Evidently this included human trafficking.

          In this passage, the physical events seem to be more like what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah. The actual city involved doesn't seem likely to be historical Babylon revived, since it is landlocked, in modern day Iraq. What we would need to zero in on is a city that is the pre-eminent commercial port of the world, with the added clue that it is also the source of worldwide passion for illicit sexual intercourse. Does this sound like New York City or Los Angeles?

Revelation 18:20 This appears to be an angelic interjection to the reader. The faithful should celebrate the total destruction of Babylon. The city and the system it engenders are at war with believers; even if not hunting them down to exterminate them, as the beast is, it is attempting to destroy their faith through temptation to live in accordance with the world's ways.

Revelation 18:1-8 Judgment of the harlot

Revelation 18:1-3 In announcing the judgment of the harlot, the glorious angel summarizes the charges against her. The role of demons and unclean spirits (is there a difference?) is highlighted. The power centers of the beast - peoples, rulers, businessmen - have been corrupted by her sensuality, even as they encouraged and profited from it.

Revelation 18:4-8 This is a bit puzzling because it implies that even at this late stage in the unveiling of God's judgment, after the beast has hunted down and attempted to exterminate every believer, God still has some people living in the midst of the harlot. The most plausible interpretation of this seems to be that this is a plea to the reader. You, Reader of this book (the Revelation) who are God's, come out of the harlot right now. Do not participate in the passion of her illicit sexual intercourse!

          The angel states that the harlot's punishment will be twice the amount she has paid out.  The repayment for sensuality will be torment and mourning. Although this may refer to an eternal future in hell, there is a more immediate literal, physical punishment imminent: plagues, famine, and fire. The lifeview that one is royalty and will never mourn hardship or loss is not unique to the harlot.  It seems to be symptomatic of anyone who doesn't think God is serious. The fruit of this lifeview is self-centeredness, a lifestyle that lives for the gratification of the flesh or for power or wealth, without regard for other people or God.