Revelation 20 - Verse by Verse Bible Study

By Pastor Steven L Anderson

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January, 2013

Now in Revelation chapter 20, verse 1, the Bible reads "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". No the first thing that I want to point out is about the angel of

the bottomless pit here. It says that an angel came down from heaven, having the key of the

bottomless pit. And this angel lays hold on the fevil and casts him into the bottomless

pit, or hell. Flipo back if you would to Revelation chapter . I am going to show you the identity

of this angel that casts satan into the bottomless pit. The Bible says in Revelation :, "And

they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew

tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon." So the Bible tells

us that the angel of the bottomless pit is called Abaddon or Apollyon. Now what's funny

about this is that alot of people believe that Apollyon, or Abaddon is a name for Satan.

I know when I was growing up, I was taught that. And it comes from Pilgrim's Progress,

because there is book called Pilgrim's Progress that was written hundreds of years ago, and

in that book, Apollyon is Satan. And so because so many people have read that book, that idea

has gotten into people's minds that Abaddon or Apollyon is Satan. Well, first of all,

the book Pilgrim's Progress also teaches that a person can lose their salvation, and it

teaches a lot of other false doctrine. So we should never make a fictional book our

authority. We should go to the Bible. Because in the Bible it's very clear that Apollyon

is not the devil. Because in chapter , what do we see? The angel of the bottomless pit,

it says "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." So this angel that has the angel that

has the key to the bottomless pit CANNOT be Satan, because he is grabbing Satan and throwing

him into the bottomless pit. The other thing that doesn't make any sense about saying that

Apollyon is Satan, is that in chapter , God is pouring out his wrath upon the unbelievers,

the unsaved world. And it is God who is sending the locusts from hell, with the fifth trumpet

judgment that we see there in Revelation . So if God is sending these locusts from hell

to torment the wicked, to torment the unsaved and the unbelievers, why would God's judgment

be carried out by locusts that have a king over them which is Satan? See how that doesn't

make any sense? Can Satan cast out Satan? If you look when God is pouring out his wrath

with the trumpet judgments and the vial judgments, he pours out his wrath upon the kingdom of

the beast, and his kingdom was full of darkness and they gnawed their tongues for pain. Remember,

Satan is the one putting the beast and the antichrist and the false prophet, he is putting

those people in power. He is the one who is on the side of the forces of evil. So it really

would not make any sense to say that Satan is leading an army against his own kingdom,

against his own rulers. So it makes absolutely no sense, it's a completly fabricated doctrine.

Now the word "Abaddon", it says that in the Greek tongue, but in the Hebrew tongue it's

Abaddon. Now the word Abaddon does not appear in our English Bible anywhere else. But the

Bible is telling us here that Abaddon is a Hebrew word, right? Well, if you go back to

the Hebrew Bible, you will see the word "Abaddon" over and over and over again, and basically

Abaddon means "destruction", and if you look up in the Old Testament, there are many times

that God sends a destroying angel. Like for example, if you remember there is an angel

standing with a drawn sword over Jerusalem when David sins and numbers the people, and

there is an angel that's going to destroy Jerusalem. Or also there is the angel that

God sends at the passover, this death angel that's going to kill the first born of all

the Egyptians. So this particular angel, Abaddon, or Apollyon is an angel that God uses throughout

the Bible to carry out judgments and destruction upon the wicked. And that's what we see here.

So don't let anybody fool you into thinking that Abaddon or Apollyon is a wicked angel

or that it's a fallen angel, or that it's Satan. No, this is one of God's angels that

carries out his will. You see, the devil does not rule and reign in hell. Saying that "these

locusts that come out of the bottomless pit are ruled over by a king Apollyon", and then

to say that Apollyon is Satan... Basically it's like saying that Satan is the king of

hell. And that's basically what the devil wants you to believe. And the mantra, or the

motto of Satan worshippers, here is what they say, "it's better to reign in hell, than to

serve in heaven. That's a common statement that you will hear people say who worship

the Devil, or Lucifer. They say "better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven". And

they think that the devil rules and reigns in hell, and that he will give them power

and authority over the kingdoms of hell. That is a bizarre thing to think. Because what

the Bible teaches is that the Devil has never even been to hell. The first time that the

devil goes to hell is right here in Revelation verses and , when the Devil is cast,

by Apollyon into hell, and bound there years. And look, he is going there to be punished!

He is going there to be tormented. He is not going to be down there ruling and reigning.

He is going to be down there suffering and in torment, because GOD is the one who created

hell, GOD is the one who rules and reigns over hell, GOD is the one who has all authority

in heaven and in hell, and everywhere. The Bible talks about people in hell being tormented

in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. Don't be fooled

that the devil is the king of the bottomless pit, or the king... No, that is a false doctrine.

Look if you would, it says that he laid hold on the dragon, and we know that that is Apollyon

from chapter verse , and "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." So, Satan is temporarily put in hell,

put in the bottomless pit until the thousand years are expired. Now, why is it called the

bottomless pit? Well if you think about it, what makes things fall into a pit? Gravity,

right? Well, the Bible is real clear that hell is in the centre of the earth, it's located

in the heart of the earth, in the lower parts of the earth. So if you were in the centre

of the earth, wouldn't it be easy to characterise that as a bottomless pit? You're never really

going to hit the bottom, because there is a void place in the centre of the earth where

hell is located. Now, this is a different destination than the antichrist and the false

prophet went to. Look at Revelation , verse . "And the beast was taken", that's the

antichrist, "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." Watch this. "These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning

with brimstone." So in chapter verse , we see that the antichrist and the false prophet

are cast alive into a lake of fire, burning with brimstone. Now, Satan is eventually going

to go to that lake of fire. But right now, instead, he is locked in the bottomless pit.

Which is equivalent to hell, which every unbeliever who has already died is located right now.

In hell. Now look at verse . It says "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. But the rest of the dead lived not again until

the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection." So while Satan is

bound in hell for a thousand years, locked up in the bottomless pit, that he should decieve

the nations no more for years that is... Then, we as believers, we as the saved, as

the saints will live and reign with Christ on this earth for years. Christ will

literally rule and reign on this earth from Jerusalem for years. And we will rule

and reign with him. Now if you would, go to st Thessalonians chapter . Now this isn't

the only scripture that talks about what we call "the millenium". "Millenium" just means

a period of years. Revelation talks about the millenium. It doesn't give us a

whole lot of detail. But if we study other scriptures from the Old Testament, the New

Testament, we can get more details about this year reign of the millenium. But first

of all, I want to show you that every single believer will be present during this

year millenial reign of Christ. Because some have misinterpreted Revelation there, where

he talks about seeing those that were beheaded for the word of God and had not worshipped

the beast, neither his image, and characterised this as "well, those are the only ones that

are going to rule and reign with him. ONLY the ones who've been beheaded." But the Bible

is clear that in the first resurrection, it's not just those who have been killed for the

cause of Christ, it's every believer. Let me prove it to you. Look at st Thessalonians

chapter :. The Bible reads "To the end he may stablish your hearts unblameable in

holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his

saints." So when the Lord Jesus Christ returns, he will have ALL the saints with him. Not

just a certain group that was beheaded. Now, obviously the reason that those who are beheaded

are brought up, is because people who have been beheaded for the cause of CHrist, people

who have given their lives for the cause of Christ, they are going to have alot of authority

in the millenium. Because the Bible says "if we suffer, we shall also reign with him."

And the more people have sacrificed and suffered for the cause of CHrist, the more they are

going to be glorified together with him in the millenium, they're going to recieve a

greater reward. Think about it. If you sacrificed your life and gave everything for the cause

of Christ, you are going to get a great reward. Moreso than someone who does very little for

the cause of Christ, or who suffers very little in this life, they have their reward now.

So st THessalonians says he will return with all of his saints. And of course "saints"

is all that are saved. st Corinthians chapter , verses and makes that really clear.

But now go to the famous passage in st Thessalonians right across the page there and look at

verse . The Bible says "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them

also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him." So the Bible says that Jesus will bring

those that sleep in Jesus with him. The Bible says that he will come with all his saints.

And so, I just want to make that very clear to you that all believers are going to be

resurrected in that first resurrection. Go to st Corinthians chapter . I really want

to emphasise this about the first resurrection, and then I also want to talk about the second

resurrection. Look at st Corinthians chapter . Now st Corinthians gives the order

of the resurrection of the dead. Starting out with Jesus CHrit which is called "the

firstfruits of the resurrection". Look if you would at verse in st Corinthians .

The Bible reads "For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But

every man in his own order". So we're talking about people who've died being made alive,

but they're going to do so in a certain order. THere is an order of people being resurrected

or made alive. Here is the order. It says "every man in his own order", verse , "Christ

the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he

shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down

all rule and all authority and power. For he must reign"- Talking about the year

reign of Christ, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall

be destroyed is death." So this is a very clear scripture that shows us that there are

two resurrections of the saved. two resurrections of God's people. Because we had the order

as Christ the firstfruits... Jesus CHrist ONLY, he was the firstfruits of the resurrection,

he was resurrected years ago. But then it says "afterward, they that are Christ's

AT HIS COMING", that's st THessalonians . "Then we which are alive and remain unto the

COMING OF THE LORD shall not prevent them which are asleep". Then it talks about the

trumpet sounding, the famous rapture passage in st Thessalonians . And then he says "then

cometh THE END", and when he says "the end", he is talking about after the millenium, AFTER

Jesus has reigned, when the last enemy is finally destroyed, death and there is no more

death, that is a second resurrection. So here is what we have. Christ the first fruits,

then we have the first resurrection, which is those that are Christ's at his coming,

not just those that are beheaded but ALL that belong to Christ at his coming- that is the

first resurrection. THEN we have the end, when there is a second resurrection, after

the millenium. Now look, it's very simple. Jesus rose years ago. At the rapture,

there is a resurrection of God's people, and then there is the second resurrection, which

is AFTER the millenium. Isn't that pretty simple? But here is the thing, there are people

who try to teach other resurrections, other than these that are laid out in st Corinthians

. He gives us the order. CHrist, they that are Christ's at his coming, and then cometh

the end, when death is finally destroyed. Those are the only resurrections. Now alot

of people will confuse things like the resurrection of Lazarus. And try to say that that was also

a resurrection, or that was another rapture that took place here or there... But here

is the thing. Enoch was not resurrected, okay? Because Enoch did not die and get buried and

rise again. Enoch was translated that he should not see death, and he was not found because

God took him. And when you look at other people who were resurrected in the Bible, like for

example, Elisha, he brought a boy back to life that had died. The difference there,

and why that does not count in this reckoning of resurrections here in st Corinthians

is that that boy died again. Or for example, when Jesus raised Lazarus. LAZARUS DIED AGAIN.

That was not a final resurrection where he was changed from corruption to incorruptable.

He wasn't going from mortality to immortality there. Get the context of the whole chapter.

st Corinthians . WHen he talks about the resurrection, he is talking about becoming

immortal. Rising again to die no more. And every other person in the Bible who was resurrected

or brought back to life, whether it be Lazarus, whether it be when Jesus went to the city

of Nain, and there was a coffin there, and he touched the coffin, and the boy that was

in the coffin came back to life and rose up again... Those people all died again. So,

the firstfruits of the resurrection is Christ. Jesus Christ, the only person to this point,

, the only one who has been resurrected to die no more, is Jesus Christ. The first

resurrection of God's people, will not be until the coming of Jesus CHrist, which is

st Thessalonians , covers that. And then there will not be another resurrection until

after the millenium. But those who believe in the pre-trib rapture will often tell you,

"well, there is a resurrection before the tribulation, and then there is another resurrection

part way through the tribulation, and then there is another resurrection at the end of

tribulation, and they have resurrections and more resurrections..." And most people who

I have talked to who believe in a pre-trib rapture, they also believe that the Old Testament

saints... Because often, pre-trib rapture and dispensationalism, they go hand in hand,

right? they're two peas in a pod. And this is what they'll often teach. They'll say "the

Old Testament saints were already resurrected back when Jesus rose from the dead. All the

Old Testament saints were already resurrected, and so that's already happened." Who has heard

that doctrine before? You've heard this thing where they say "all the Old Testament saints,

they were already resurrected." And what they do is they use the verse in Matthew where

it talks about when Jesus rose from the dead, it says "many of the saints", it doesn't say

ALL of the saints, it says "many of the saints rose from the graves and walked into the holy

city and showed themselves unto many". So basically what happened is that there was

a miracle that took place where when Jesus died on the cross and was buried and rose

again, basically the graves were opened, and basically dead bodies... Some, many, not all,

but many dead bodies of the saints were actually resurrected and basically walked out of the

grave. Now, this is a similar miracle, pay attention to what I'm saying. THis is a similar

miracle to when Elisha died, and if you remember they buried a body, and when they threw the

body into the pit, when it touched the bones of Elisha, the body came back to life. That

guy died again. Well these people that came back to life when Jesus rose from the dead,

that was just a miracle. Alot of miracles happened when Jesus died on the cross. The

veil was rent in twain, there was darkness, there was an earthquake, and these dead bodies

came out of the graveyard and walked into Jerusalem. But these people all died again.

THat was similar to a Lazarus resurrection, or other miracles like that from the Old Testament.

Let me prove to you beyond a shadow of a doubt that all the Old Testament saints were not

finally resurrected, or glorified in their immortal new bodies at the resurrection of

CHrist. Go to Acts :. Because remember, these dispensationalists will try to take

a verse that mentions that "many of the saints came out of the graves and walked into Jerusalem

and showed themselves to many", which was just a miracle, just like when Elisha died.

A guy came back to life, it was just a miracle like Lazarus being raised. They try to compare

that, with an event like the rapture, or the first resurrection where all the dead in Christ

are raised. They try to say, "the Old Testament saints were ALL bodily resurrected, their

final resurrection, was when Jesus rose from the dead". And that is a false doctrine and

a lie. First of all it's not compatible with st Corinthians . Because st Corinthians

told us clearly that Christ was the firstfruits, afterward they that are Christ's at his coming,

and then the end. THat's it, that's all there is! Quit trying to talk to me about other

resurrections, which are not one of those three. THe resurrection of CHrist, the rapture

and the post-millenial resurrection. That's all I want to hear about. Look at Acts .

I'll PROVE to you that that's a false doctrine. Now, ask yourself this question. Is Acts chapter

before or AFTER the resurrection of Christ? After. I mean, Jesus Christ rose from the

dead at the end of the four gospels. The book of Acts takes place AFTER that. So, look if

you would at verse . "Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch

David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day." If

this false doctrine were true that says that there was a resurrection of ALL the Old Testament

saints, that already took place when Jesus rose from the dead, would this make any sense?

Saying "Oh, David? He's still in the grave. His sepulchre is with us to this day. He is

dead and buried!" Now look, when it's talking about David being dead and buried, it's not

talking about his soul, you don't bury a soul, do you? His soul is in heaven, his soul is

alive in heaven. When he says the patriarch David is dead and buried, he is referring

to the BODY of David, saying David's body is DEAD, David's body is buried. His sepulchre

is with us..."until recently, when all the Old Testaments saints were bodily resurrected."

No, he says "it's with us to this day". Proving that at the time Acts is taking place, the

Old Testament saints are still in the grave, their bodies are still in the grave. You say

"when are those bodies going to be resurrected?" I'll tell you when. At Christ's coming. Afterward,

they that are Christ's at his coming. At the rapture, where it says the dead in CHrist

shall rise first... "the Old Testament saints were not in Christ, because that was a different

dispensation. You know what? The Bible says "the dead in Christ shall rise first", and

guess what? He is talking about Old and New Testament saints. Because David was still

in the grave, he was still dead and buried in Acts chapter , that's what it says. Go

to nd Timothy chapter , and we'll find even more reinforcement for the fact that these

Old Testament saints had not been bodily resurrected. Did a few people come out of the graves and

walk into Jerusalem and show themselves unto many? Yes, it was another miracle, another

testimony of the the power of the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It was symbolic,

it was like a raising of Lazarus or a raising of other people in the Old Testament that

Elisha did. nd Timothy chapter , and we'll see more proof. I mean, Acts : is enough.

But let me just show you a little more proof. It says here in verse , "But shun profane

and vain babblings: for they will increase unto more ungodliness. And their word will

eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus"- man I'd hate to be a poster

child for babbling and vain talk. But these guys Hymenaeus and Philetus as being a couple

of babling fools when it came to teaching Bible doctrine. And it talks about what their

false doctrine was. What was the false doctrine of these babbling idiots Hymenaeus and Philetus,

verse - "Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already;

and overthrow the faith of some." So what were these babbling fools saying? Basically

that the resurrection had already taken place. And look, yes already the resurrection of

Christ is the ONLY resurrection going from mortality to immortality that had taken place.

Next will be the rapture, then post millenial. So I really want to drive that in. Go back

to John . Let's talk about the second resurrection. So we all understand Jesus' resurrection,

and we all understand the first resurrection, that's where Christ comes in the clouds, the

trumpet sounds, and the dead in Christ rise first, and we which are alive and remain shall

be caught up together with him in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we

ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words. Now ask yourself

this question. At the coming of Christ in the clouds, are the unsaved resurrected? Is

there any evidence that the unsaved are resurrected AT CHRIST'S COMING in the clouds? No, it's

the saved. It's those that are asleep in Jesus that are resurrected when Christ comes in

the clouds. But look at this interesting verse in John , verse . The Bible reads "Marvel

not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear

his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of"-

what?- "life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation." Now,

that tells us that the hour is coming in the which ALL that are in the graves shall hear

his voice. And they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life, and they that have

done evil unto the resurrection of damnation. Now I've had those who believe in a pre-trib

rapture "that hour there is spanning thousands of years..." Now, I don't understand... How

can you look at that and say "this hour is talking about things that are over a thousand

years apart." No it isn't! Who here believes that there is going to come an hour when all

that are in the graves will hear his voice, that the saved and the unsaved, and there

will be a resurrection of life, and a resurrection of damnation the same hour. That's what it

says. Why wouldn't we believe that? You say "well how can that be Pastor Anderson, because

at the rapture, it's only the saved that are going?" I'll tell you why, because there is

a second resurrection of the saved after the millenium. That's why. And so after the millenium

is where the unsaved are resurrected before the great white throne, and there will be

saved people resurrected at that time also, so that will be a time where everybody in

the grave hears his voice and are resurrected. Both the good and the evil. You say "how can

that be? Why would people not be resurrected until after the millenium?" Very simple. Because

after the rapture takes place, after the first resurrection takes place, there are going

to be other people who live and get saved after that. So when Christ's coming takes

place, those that are Christ's at his coming will all be resurrected, BUT, there are other

people that are going to be born after that. Think about it now, because there are going

to be the years where God pours out his wrath. Then there is going to be the year reign

of Christ on this earth. During that time, people are going to be born. New people will

be getting saved that were not saved before the rapture took place. And so as new people

are getting saved and being born, and dying... Well, those people eventually all need to

go through the bodily resurrection. That's going to take place after the millenium. That's

the second resurrection. I'll prove it to you. Are you in Revelation ? Get in Revelation

and I'll show you that. Because the Bible says they lived and reigned with Christ

years at the end of verse , watch this, "But the rest of the dead lived not again until

the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is

he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but

they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."

So here is the thing. If you're in the first resurrection, you get to rule and reign with

Christ years. BUT, he said the rest of the dead "lived not again until the thousand

years were finished". Now, who are the dead who are going to live again after the

years are finished? You say, "oh, that's the unsaved". WRONG. The unsaved will never live

again. Do you understand that? Because Jesus said that there is the resurrection of LIFE

for those that are saved, and the resurrection of DAMNATION for those that are not saved.

Jump down in you would to verse number , where we see the great white throne judgment

after the millenium. ANd in verse number it says "I saw the" WHAT? "the dead". "And

I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another

book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things

which were written in the books, according to their works." Now does that sound like

they're living again? They're still dead, even when they're standing before God, they're

called the DEAD. Because it's not a resurrection of LIFE. A resurrection of LIFE is where somebody

is raised up and they are alive. But this is not a resurrection of life. This is what's

called the resurrection of damnation, where people are raised up from the grave, bodily,

but they are not alive. They are dead and they are there to be damned, they are there

to be condemned. They are not living again. So when the Bible says "the rest of the dead

lived not again", we're talking about saved people that are dead, who will live again.

Let me make this real clear. The first resurrection includes people who refused to take the mark

of the beast. Do you see that? It says in verse , "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." Now look, the Bible is clear in st

Thessalonians that the dead in Christ rise first, right? The dead in Christ rise BEFORE

we are raptured. RIGHT BEFORE we are raptured, the dead in Christ rise first, then we which

are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds. So question. If the

first resurrection contains people who refused to recieve the mark of the beast in their

hands and foreheads, how can anyone teach that the rapture takes place BEFORE the mark

of the beast is handed out? How can you teach that the rapture is before the tribulation,

if the rapture is equivalent to the first resurrection according to st Thessalonians

and st Corinthians . If the rapture and the first resurrection take place at the same

time... You know, the dead in Christ rise first, and then we're caught up with them.

And the first resurrection INCLUDES people who refused to take the mark of the beast,

how can you say that it's happening before the tribulation, when the mark of the beast

is handed out during the tribulation? It makes absolutely NO SENSE. It's a false doctrine.

That's why those who believe in a pre-trib rapture, they have to add in extra resurrections

here, throw a few resurrections there, come up with a bunch more. Because it doesn't make

any sense. Why don't we just accept the fact that the first resurrection... They say "well,

it's just the first "type" of resurrection..." No, st Corinthians was clear on the order

of resurrection, and the first resurrection contains people who resisted the mark of the

beast. Now, are we saying that the first resurrection takes place at the end of the seven years,

known as Daniel's th week, or that it takes place chronologically at the time of Revelation

? No we're not, because we know that the rapture takes place BEFORE the trumpets and

vials of God's wrath are poured out. That's why when we get to chapter , and he is talking

about the first resurrection, which is something that had already happened a few years before,

he talks about those people as being part of the first resurrection. THat doesn't mean

they were just resurrected minutes ago. THey were actually resurrected several years

before, at the opening of the sixth seal, when the sun and moon were darkened. That's

what Jesus taught would be when the rapture would take place. That's why he says "the

rest of the dead lived not again." Because if the first resurrection were happening right

now in chapter , then basically everybody who is asleep in Jesus, everybody who is dead

in Christ would be resurrected. There would be no "rest of the dead" to talk about. But

since the first resurrection had happened a few years ago, it had happened over years

ago in fact- are you listening? Because the first resurrection took place over three years

before the events in Revelation , doesn't it make sense that some other people have

gotten saved in the meantime, and died, and are in the graves, and he is saying the "hey,

the rest of the dead that are saved are not going to live again until the thousand years

are finished"? So I hope that didn't go over your head, I'm trying to make it as clear

as I can tonight. But it says in verse , "And when the thousand years are expired,

Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, And shall go out to deceive the nations 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." Now notice, Satan is always characterised

in this passage as decieving the nations. In verse , it said that he would decieve

the nations no more until the thousand years are finished". That tells me he is decieving

the nations right now. And that's why back in Revelation chapter , he said "the devil

decieveth the whole world". He said in verse , "the devil, and Satan which decieveth the

whole world". That tells me that we're living in a world that's decieved. The people of

this world have been lied to about so many things. They've been lied to and told that

there is no God. They've been lied to and told "we have proof, we have evidence of the

big bang! There is concrete evidence that we evolved from animals!" I had somebody tell

me recently, "science has proven that God doesn't exist". People just say these things,

but it just shows how decieved they are, that they actually believe that! They actually

believe that "science has proven that...." I mean, what is the formula for that? "Science

has proven the big bang" It's all lies. And there are so many lies about world events.

We see all these things in the newspaper, and people just believe them. And alot of

it is manipulated. And it's funny because years and years later you will learn about

the deception, after these wars are fought decades later, you look back and you find

out, "oh, it turns out that the gulf of Tonkin wasn't what we thought it was". And you go

back and you look at Pearl Harbour, and it turns out "oh, the government had foreknowledge,

here is all the evidence". But our government today would never do anything like that....

And you look back, and you see the deception that our own government has used so many times,

just to get people to do what they wanted to do. They lied to them and decieved them

jsut to t ry and get them in line with a certain program they wanted to carry out. And they're

doing the same thing today. The Bible says that the Devil is the god of this world. The

Bible says "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." What's that talking about? High places of authority. High places in our

government are occupied by people who engage in spiritual wickedness. And they literally

worship Satan. And it's amazing how people lift up these politicians, and "oh, he's a

Christian, he's a godly politician, he's republican, he's a born again Christian!" And these are

the same people that are passing legislation to murder babies through abortion, they want

to bomb innocent people over in this country, for the love of money. From whence come wars

and fightings among you? Come they not hence, from your lusts that war in your members?

You kill and desire to have... And they're greedy evil people running the governments

of the world. They lie to you, they decieve you, they say they're Christian, they say

God bless you, and in reality, the literally worship Satan. I mean, look at our government

that promotes Sodomy and homosexuality. Look at our government that promotes abortion.

That promotes wickedness and SIN, and is constantly LYING to us, and yet, we're decieved by it!

The Bible says there will come a day when the Devil is locked up and he won't be able

to decieve the nations anymore for years. The truth will prevail. We will actually know

the truth about the world that we live in. Unlike now, where we are being bombarded.

That's why now, this book is the only thing you can trust. Don't trust what any news outlet

tells you, trust the Bible. The Bible will give you the truth. And so we see here that

the Devil is a deciever and when he comes out of the bottomless pit, after he has been

locked in hell for years, he is going to go out to decieve the nations. That's what

he has been good at all these years... "Which are in the four quarters of the earth", watch

this, "Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand

of the sea." Now go back quickly to Ezekiel and . Now I think that this blows my

mind more than anything else when I look at some of the teaching that's out there on Bible

prophecy. Because it seems like EVERYBODY that preaches on God and Magog, EVERYBODY

who teaches on Bible prophecy, it seems like they always want to talk about Gog and Magog,

as if it's something that's about to happen. And there are all these prophecy conferences.

And people come from all over, and they come to this "middle east Bible prophecy conference,

and it's all about Gog and Magog, and this battle of Gog and Magog is right around the

corner..." But here is the funny thing about it folks. Gog and Magog are only mentioned

TWICE in the whole Bible. Aside from being in a genealogy, just who they humanly were

in Chronicles. Gog and Magog are only mentioned twice. One of those times is in Ezekiel

and . The other time is in Revelation . Now let me ask you this. When is the battle

of Gog and Magog taking place, according to Revelation ? Is it before the millenium,

or after the millenium? It's AFTER the millenium. Does that sound like something that "we can

kind of look at the middle east and gear up for it happening"? IT'S OVER YEARS AWAY.

Why would anything that's happening in the middle east right now have anything to do

with the battle of Gog and Magog? But it makes for a really interesting for a really interesting

prophecy conference. I mean, it makes for a really interesting sermon to preach. But

folks, how can people teach that the battle of Gog and Magog will take place before the

millenium, or even before the tribulation, or even during the tribulation, when the Bible

clearly says that the battle of Gog and Magog will take place... I mean, why did he even

bring up Gog and Magog??? He said the Devil is going to decieve ALL the nations. Why name

those two? Why specifically say He will go out to decieve the nations, comma, Gog and

Magog. Because he is trying to point us back to Ezekiel and , and he is trying to

tell us that the events in Ezekiel and are being fulfilled in Revelation . And

yet, I'm sure that probably all over the world this month, there are probably going to be

preachers, and prophecy conferences and teachers that are going to tell you "the battle of

Gog and Magog...." And look, there is a famous movie, "Left Behind". It's basically a fairy

tale is what it is. It has NOTHING to do with the truth. And I would highly suggest you

ignore anything you think you learnt... Look, if you want to learn how things are NOT going

to happen with Bible prophecy, just watch Left Behind, and everything is the opposite.

If you want to know what the antichrist is going to be like, just look at the antichrist

in the left behind movie, that's probably the opposite of what he is going to be like.

You know, in the Left Behind movie, the antichrist is this clean cut, short haired guy in a business

suit with a east european accent??? What in the world? And people are going to believe

that that guy is Jesus? You've got to be kidding me. Obviously, when the antichrist comes,

he is going to be believable, and he is going to look like what people would expect Jesus

to look like. He is going to have long hair, and he is going to have olive skin, and he

is going to have a beard, and he is going to be dressed and looking like all the fake

pictures of Jesus. Of course, Jesus had short hair I believe, because the Bible says that

it's a shame for a man to have long hair. And men are commanded to have short hair,

ladies are commanded to have long hair to be in their proper gender roles. And in this

movie, one of the first things that happens is the battle of Gog and Magog. I mean, that's

one of the first things in the movie. BEFORE the RAPTURE even happens, they've got the

battle of Gog and Magog! That should tell you right away that this movie is nonsense.

Anybody who tells you that the battle of Gog and Magog is taking place before the millenium

is sorely mistaken, because Revelation makes it clear. But if we look back at Ezekiel

, it says in verse , "And the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, Son of man, set

thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy

against him", and just to point out some highlights, verse says this "And thou shalt say, I

will go up to the land of unwalled villages; I will go to them that are at rest, that dwell

safely, all of them dwelling without walls, and having neither bars nor gates". Now let

me ask you this, oh thou who believes that the battle of Gog and Magog is right around

the corner, is the nation of Israel today dwelling safely with no walls, no bars, no

gates, unwalled villages? I mean is the nation of Israel today just going to bed every night

with their front door unlocked? Have they just put away all the weapons, and they're

just dwelling safely? The nation has more security, they have more metal detectors and

machine guns and tanks and barbed wire, and walls... THEY are NOT feeling safe right now.

This scripture DOES NOT apply, my friend. Now, I will tell you what Ezekiel and

is about. Because you will say "SOME things in Ezekiel and do not fit an interpretation

of taking place after the millenium." But let me say this. Some of the events in Ezekiel

and are prophesying about short term events that happen back then. Because alot

of times when you are reading Old Testament prophecy, especially, Ezekiel, Jeremiah and

Daniel, there is an immediate interpretation of things that are happening right now, or

in the near future, and then there is an endtimes Bible prophecy application. Well, let me tell

you something, the endtimes Bible prophecy application is for sure AFTER the millenium,

Revelation . Any other application is just talking about something that was happening

back in the Old Testament. But see this verse that I just read for you, that talks about

dwelling safely, unwalled villages, no gates, no bars... Doesn't that make perfect sense

if it's after the millenium? Because after the millenium they're going to beat all their

swords into plowshares, right? They're going to beat all their swords into pruning hooks.

They're going to dwell peacefully. The lion is going to dwell with the Lamb. Sure they're

going to leave the front door unlocked! Sure they're going to dwell in safety without walls!

Doesn't that make sense for the millenium? That's because that's what it really is about.

Here's another highlight, it says "And I will plead against him with pestilence and with

blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are

with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone." So in chapter :,

he talks about raining down fire and brimstone from heaven when he's judging Gog and Magog.

But in Revelation , it says in verse , that he gathers Gog and Magog. Look at verse

, "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." So isn't that compatible with what we see in Ezekiel , fire coming down from

heaven and devouring them? Look at chapter of Ezekiel, verse , "and I will send a

fire on Magog", isn't that compatible with Revelation ? "and among them that dwell

carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD." And I don't want to spend

the whole night on that, but really it should be enough to see Gog and Magog in Revelation

, and Ezekiel and only, to show you the timing of when those prophecies are going

to be put in their proper place, Left Behind notwithstanding. Basically, what's going to

happen is, after the millenium, the Devil is going to go out to deceive all the nations

to rebel against Jesus Christ. Because remember Jesus Christ has been ruling and reigning

for years? Now there are types of people that are going to exist during the millenium.

First of all, there will be the saints who were resurrected at the first resurrection,

they went up at the rapture, that are going to return with Christ at the battle of Armageddon.

They're going to be in heaven for a few years, then they're going to return with Christ on

white horses at the battle of Armageddon, and rule and reign with Christ years.

Now, are those people able to be killed, or to die? No, they've already been raised. And

look, we are going to be in glorified bodies. We're not going to be in a flesh and blood

body. We are going to be in a flesh and bone body, we are going to be in a spiritual body.

We are going to be sewn a natural body, raised a spiritual body, and so we- because it's

going to be us, we're part of this first group, we will be immortal. We will not die. We will

live in the millenium. We will have a glorified body. But there are going to be two other

types of people in the millenium. Number one, there are going to be mortal men who are saved,

but they got saved AFTER the rapture. Or maybe they were even born after the rapture, grew

up and got saved after the rapture. So there is going to be the immortal saints of God

that came back to rule and reign with Christ. Then there are going to be saved mortal men.

And then there are going to be unsaved mortal men. You say "UNSAVED mortal men? Wouldn't

everybody be saved, if Jesus is reigning on the earth?" No, because Jesus is going to

be a man, on the earth, ruling and reigning, just like we will be men on the earth, reigning

under him. But not everybody is going to believe that he is really who he says he is. Just

like when he came the first time. Did everybody believe in him? And you say "yeah, but what

about when they see supernatural things?" Okay, did they see supernatural things the

first time he came? Did they see him multiply food? Did they see him raise the dead? And

yet even when he raised Lazarus, alot of people just refused to believe on him. You say "how

can they not believe when they see him?" Because this is the thing. They're going to see Jesus,

they're going to see him ruling and reigning. They're going to know that he has powers.

They're going to see that he has the ability to perform miracles that they can't perform.

They're going to notice that his servants cannot be killed, cannot die, are immortal,

and have power that they do not have. But there will be people that are unsaved. There

will be people who do not believe. And you say "well, what explanation could they have?"

Well, there is going to be some deception, and the devil is going to fool alot of unsaved

people into believing. And they might tell themselves "well, I just believe that these

people have found-" I'm just making stuff up right now, but this is the kind of deception

that could be used... This is speculation. Everything I have preached so far is fact.

Now I'm going to get into a little speculation. This is just my opinion. But I think there

could be a deception that says "you know the reason these people can't die, and the reason

why their leader Jesus has all this power is because of the fact that they've found

access to a certain technology that they're withholding from us. They've got access to

this life extension technologies. They've got access to these powers and technologies,

and they want to keep us ENSLAVED". Think about it. Picture this now. And I know we

are going waaaaaaay into the future. We are going into a time period that is very different

than the day that we are living in. But think about the scenario, where you have a two class

system here, where one class of people is immortal and has all this power under Jesus

Christ, and there is another class that is your typical average mortal man that gets

sick and dies and so forth. They could say "wait a minute, they're ruling over us with

a rod of iron! They're making all these rules, we don't wan't to follow all these rules...

They're the bosses, and we have to obey them, and here we are getting sick, dying... They

never get sick, they never die. They're withholding technology from us that keeps them as the

bosses and keeps us as..." Can't you see that lie being permeated by people who just don't

want to believe in the truth of what's happening? And they'll say "this guy is not really Jesus,

he is just claiming to be Jesus. He really just has some technology. This is just the

global elite that have gotten these life extending technologies, and they don't want anybody

to..." You could see how things could be twisted and turned around to say that. Now the other

thing is that the Bible talks about that it's when the years are EXPIRED that Satan

goes out and decieves the nations. I don't think that he is going to decieve them overnight.

I think that that deception is going to take time. And if you think about it, maybe if

you think about this as the year reign of Christ, and then the years are expired...

And it's been years, years, ... They're saying "wait a minute, this is never

going to end, this has nothing to do with the millenial reign of Christ! These people

are lying! They have access to some technology". So that's just kind of a little food for thought,

that was a little speculation. Back into the truth of what the Bible actually says here.

So, he goes out and decieves the nations, and they go out and say "you know what? We're

going to attack. We're going to overthrow Jesus and his servants." And so basically,

the servants of God, and Jesus Christ are all basically at Jerusalem here, because of

this attack that's coming, and they surround the city, and they're going to just finally

try to overthrow Jesus, because the Devil has provoked them to do so. And then what's

going to happen? Fire comes down from heaven and devours them. Then in verse , I have

to hurry, "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." Now look, tormented day and night for ever and ever, but notice it says that

he is thrown into the lake of fire where the beast and the false prophet... WERE? Is that

what it says? It says "where the beast and the false prophet ARE". Now if you remember,

they were threw in there BEFORE the millenium, chapter , verse . That shows you that

when you get cast into the lake of fire, we're not talking about the bottomless pit, the

current location of hell, we're talking about the NEW location of hell which is outer darkness,

the lake of fire. That proves that when a person is cast into the lake of fire, they

don't just burn up and they're gone. No, they're tormented day and night. And he says that

even over a THOUSAND YEARS LATER, the beast and the false prophet are STILL THERE. And

by the way, the beast and the false prophet are both human beings. And you say "welllll,

the Devil is going to be tormented day and night for ever and ever, but not humans."

The beast and the false prophet are human beings. They're burning in hell for over a

thousand years at this point, and they're STILL there in that lake of fire. He says

" I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the

heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great"-

we talked about this earlier, this is the unsaved, "stand before God; and the books

were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were

judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And

the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which

were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works." So two things about

these verses. First we see them judged by THEIR WORKS. Now, I don't know about you,

but I would not want to be judged by my works. I thank God that I am saved by grace through

faith, not of myself, but that it is the gift of God, NOT OF WORKS, lest any man should

boast. If my salvation were dependant upon my works, I would be on my way to hell. But

thank God for his grace that saves us through our faith, not according to our works. You

see the unsaved though? They're going to be judged by their works. We that are saved are

not going to be judged by our works. But those that are trusting in their works to save them,

instead of trusting in the shed blood of Jesus Christ, his death, his burial, his resurrection...

They will be judged by their works. And let me tell you something, they're ALL going to

be found guilty before God. And you say "why? They're all unsaved, they're all going to

hell." Well, I believe that different people's punishment will be worse than others. And

that's another sermon in and of itself. It's all going to be bad. It's going to be fire

and brimstone and burning. But there is alot of evidence in the Bible that some people

will suffer a worse degree of hell than others, that's another sermon. But notice he says

"the sea gave up the dead which were in it". Now, the reason that the sea is brought up-

because he talks about death and hell delivering up the dead which were in them- I think the

sea is brought up just to emphasise that this is a bodily resurrection. Alot of bodies are

located in the sea, aren't they? Alot of people have a burial at sea, or their ashes are cast

into the sea. The bringing up of the sea is to emphasise that this is a bodily resurrection

of the unsaved standing before God. And it says "And death and hell were cast into the

lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book

of life was cast into the lake of fire." Now, the last point I want to make is that this

is not saying that hell ceases to exist at this time. Alot of people will say "hell is

not eternal, hell is cast into the lake of fire and burns up and it's no longer eternal."

Well, to prove that that's false, you must realise that first of all, when a person dies

without Jesus Christ as their saviour, their soul goes to hell, but their body remains

on this earth. We bury their body, but their soul goes to hell. Not their body. But if

you remember, Jesus Christ said "fear not them which kill the body, but are not able

to kill the soul, but rather him which is able to destroy both soul and body in", where?

"Hell". So when the Bible says that hell is cast into the lake of fire. Basically, what

that is saying is that hell is relocated to the lake of fire. Because when people are

cast BODILY into the lake of fire, in Revelation :, Jesus refers to that as them being

destroyed both soul and body in hell. So Jesus referred to the lake of fire as hell, I want

to point that out. And it says here that the lake of fire is the second death. Look down

at chapter , verse , it says "all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth

with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." So according to the Bible, the lake

of fire and brimstone IS the second death. The first death is basically the current place

called death, the current place where the dead souls of the unsaved are located. That

place, "hell", that is the first death, the bottomless pit hell that's located in the

centre of the earth right now. The second death will be the lake of fire and outer darkness.

I'm going to talk a little more about that in the chapter sermon. But let's bow our

heads and have a word of prayer. "Father we thank you so much for this chapter, which

is jam packed with truth. I tried to get as much out in a short time that I had. But Father

I just pray that you would help everyone to understand these truths. Some of them are

a little more complicated, some of them are the deeper truths, but I just pray that you

would please just fill us with your spirit and give us the ability to understand your

word, and in Jesus' name we pray, Amen.