The Loosing of Satan

We will begin in the Revelation of Jesus Christ, Revelation 20:6.

We have come to that section of Revelation where Satan is loosed out of the Bottomless Pit. This is the moment in time that is called:

The End of the Thousand Years

It is the end of the period of time that is symbolically called the 1000 years, which is nothing else than the completeness of God’s plan for the binding of Satan. At the end of this symbolic 1000 years God will let Satan loose to usher in the Final Tribulation Period.

Revelation 20:6
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.

Revelation 20:7
And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,

Revelation 20:8
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.

Revelation 20:9
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.

Revelation 20:10
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.

What we have here is a new vision that began in Revelation 20:1, but it is not a new event. After the 7th vial of the wrath of God has been poured out all of history has come to an end, and earth is no more. But after the end of Revelation 16 God showed to John, and to us, the same development of the end of the world, but seen from different vantage points.

In fact, Revelation 20 is the 7th time that God shows us a portion of the New Testament period of time and its development all the way down to Judgment Day. Here in Revelation 20 God shows us this development all the way from the cross till Judgment Day. In verse 7 God tells us that at the end of the 1000 years Satan shall be loosed out of the Bottomless Pit, where he was put by Christ in verse 1 of this chapter. Please turn a few pages back to Revelation 9:1. There we see the loosing of Satan out of the Bottomless Pit from another point of view.

We read in Revelation 9:1-3,

Revelation 9:1
And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit.

Revelation 9:2
And he opened the bottomless pit; and there arose a smoke out of the pit, as the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by reason of the smoke of the pit.

Revelation 9:3
And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power.

The Lord Jesus said in Revelation 1:18 “I have the keys of hell and of death”, and from this we know that the Star, in Revelation 9:1, represents Christ, for only He has the key to the Bottomless Pit. This is the same event as written in Revelation 20:7.

These locusts represent the demons who are deceiving the whole world during the Final Tribulation Period. In the 1st half of Revelation 9 these demons are represented as locusts. In the 2nd half of Revelation 9 these same demons are represented as the 200 million horsemen. God showed us these to inform us that the demonic forces during the Final Tribulatio Period are very powerful. Please turn again to Revelation 20:8.

Satan Is Deceiving the Nations

Satan shall be loosed out of his spiritual prison in which he was held so as not to deceive the nations. When he was bound he could still roam around in this world as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour, but he could not so deceive the nations that they would be united against Christ and against His church. But now that he has been loosed he will be able to deceive the nations.

Revelation 20:8
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.

What is Satan’s objective in deceiving the nations?

He wants to stamp out the body of Christ, for it is the body of Christ that has been evangelizing the world with the true Gospel and thereby became Satan’s greatest enemy.

When God decides that the true body of believers has finished their testimony, God’s plan is that Satan shall overtake the church and spread the abomination of desolation throughout the world. Here in Revelation 11:7 we see again Satan, in the person of Antichrist, who ascends out of the Bottomless Pit.

Revelation 11:7
And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.

Revelation 11:8
And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified. Satan, in the person of Antichrist, shall make war against the body of believers, and shall overcome them and kill them.

Satan shall be able to claim victory over the body of believers, because he has killed them. And the word “kill” here does not mean murder, but in verse 5 of the same chapter the meaning of the word “kill” is to be silenced. Satan shall be successful in silencing the true gospel.

And how shall Satan succeed in doing this?

He shall not make war against the church, for this he has been doing throughout the centuries and it has not worked in his favor, but he shall make war within the church. Instead of fighting against the church he shall join the church and be promoted to preach in the pulpits throughout the world. And thus the church shall be overrun by people preaching a gospel that is the abomination that makes desolate, and in this way Satan has killed the church.

We can see this clearly in Revelation 11:8, where the “dead bodies” refer to the dead churches that are still in operation.

And thus these dead churches are symbolically not in the city of God, but are in the city of Satan. They shall not be buried for they are still in operation with false preachers, and with false evangelists spreading false gospels to an ever greater circle of people who are on a slippery slide into Hell. This is how Satan shall deceive the nations of the world.

In Revelation 20:8 God gives the nations of the world a name: “Gog and Magog”.

Why does God give them this name?

God wants us to read about Gog and Magog earlier in the Bible, particularly in Ezekiel 38:2. There God gave Satan the name Gog (g-o-g).

Ezekiel 38:2
Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him.

And who does Magog represent?

The name Magog means “the land of Gog”. And thus when we read here in Ezekiel 38:2, “Gog, the land of Magog” we understand that this refers to all the nations who have been deceived by Gog in the land, called Magog.

This is also the meaning of Revelation 20.
There God says that all the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth are called Gog and Magog, which means that Satan, Gog, has indwelt the nations in the four quarters of the earth so that they who are the dwelling place of Gog have become inseparably united with Gog.

And for what reason has Satan indwelt the nations in the four quarters of the earth?

To Gather Them to Battle

Revelation 20:8
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.

What is here presented in a separate vision to John has already been pictured in a different setting in previous chapters. Satan’s attack on the church is here presented as a war, or as a battle. It is the Battle of Armageddon all over again that culminates on Judgment Day.

It is a repeat of the battle we have already seen in Revelation 19:17-21, where this battle has been followed all the way into Hell, and where the fowls of the air representing Satan and his demons are delighting themselves in torturing the unsaved in Hell. Please turn a few pages back to Revelation 16:12.

We have seen in Revelation 19:17-21 that the beast and the false prophet are cast into Hell, whereas in Revelation 20:10 Satan is cast into Hell.

Well, did God break up the infernal trinity, and are these two separate events?

No!

We must realize where the beast came from. The beast came out of the Bottomless Pit, the sea of wicked mankind where Satan is. The false prophet came out of the earth, the earth out of which man was made. And thus both the beast and the false prophet are manifestations of Satan in human flesh, not in one person, but in many persons in pulpits all over the world. And thus the beast and the false prophet represent the dominion of Satan, whereas the Devil in Revelation 20 is Satan himself.

The events of Revelation 19:17-21 are in fact the same events that are described in Revelation 20:8-10. This war, or this battle, is a spiritual battle. It must be a spiritual battle, for the Lord Jesus said in Matthew 24 that at His second coming it will be business as usual, without great movements of armies around the world. We can see that also when we review the pouring of the 6th vial in Revelation 16.

Revelation 16:12
And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.

Revelation 16:13
And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.

Revelation 16:14
For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.

Revelation 16:15
Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.

Revelation 16:16
And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.

Here we see the battle of Armageddon in preparation. First the water of the great river Euphrates was dried up so that the symbolic city Babylon was ready for takeover by the armies of Christ. Then God describes the wicked spirits out of the mouths of the infernal trinity, thereby indicating that the nations of the world shall be deceived by the lies of the Devil, and to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. And instead of speaking immediately about Armageddon, right in between two verses that speak of the battle of that great day of God Almighty, God inserted verse 15 where He warned us, “Behold I come as a thief”, or paraphrased, “No one expects that I am ready to judge the world, for looking at the world scene you will not be able to see that My second coming is near”.

But then, what is this battle, what is this war?

In the words of Revelation 11:7, the war is Satan’s attack upon the church to destroy the true church and have a counterfeit church in its place, and have a counterfeit gospel in place, and have counterfeit evangelism taking over the world, The battle of Armageddon is Satan’s attempt to establish a heaven on earth without Christ, and without God, and without the true church, for the counterfeit church will meet all the needs of the population of the world. But as long as there are true believers on this earth Satan’s heaven on earth is not complete. That is why he deceives the nations of the world that they must get rid of the last vestiges of Christ and the true Gospel of the Bible.

This is the battle of Armageddon. This is why he draws the nations to:

Compass the Camp of the Saints

Let’s turn again to Revelation 20:8. Before leaving the matter of Satan deceiving the nations we need to look at the ending of Revelation 20:8, where God says,
“the number of whom is as the sand of the sea”.

Why did God add this apparently insignificant detail?

We already know that the population of the world is 6½ billion people. But when God uses the term “as the sand of the sea” He uses it to indicate the number of people within the descendants of Abraham. But in Isaiah 10:22 God uses this term to describe number of unsaved in Israel, whereas the true saints in Israel are identified as “the remnant”.

Isaiah 10:22
For though thy people Israel be as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant of them shall return: the consumption decreed shall overflow with righteousness.

You see, the unbelievers in Israel are indicated by “as the sand of the sea”, whereas only a small remnant shall be saved. God repeats this verse in Romans 9:27 with the same ominous connotations:

Romans 9:27
Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:

You see, “as the sand of the sea” refers to those who are nominally on the inside, but they are actually used by Satan. This is also the meaning that is used in Revelation 20:8, thereby strongly indicating that those who are compassing the camp of the saints are nominally inside the church. The nations that Satan is gathering together are not only numerous, but they will be fighting the saints from within the church.

This is why they are so dangerous, and this is why the Lord Jesus said in
Matthew 24:22, “And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect’s sake those days shall be shortened”.

Now let us look at that multitude and consider the words we read.

Revelation 20:9
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.

This says that the army that is attacking the camp of the saints takes up the breadth of the earth. If anyone still hangs on to a literal army that is attacking the nation of Israel, here is a verse that will prove you wrong. Certainly no physical army in the world takes up the breadth of the earth. It is a physical impossibility. And certainly no physical army in the world attacking the tiny nation of Israel shall come with a force that is as wide as the breadth of the earth. But God does not lie. The army God speaks about in this verse is a spiritual army that involves almost the entire world population. It is not an army that comes with tanks and canons and airplanes, but it is an army that comes with a gospel which is a counterfeit gospel.

It is not a gospel that God will not use to save people by the hearing of it, but it is a gospel that God considers an abomination that makes the hearers thereof desolate. It is not an army that moves on wheels, but it is an army that occupies pulpits, and because of its popularity it will take almost every church by storm. It is not an army directed by generals, but it is an army that is directed by preachers and teachers of a gospel that comes very close to the true Gospel. However, it is not an army that takes the Bible seriously, but it is an army that skips a few verses here and there. It is not an army that gives God all the glory, but it is an army that gives some of the glory to their god, and gives some of the glory to man. It is not an army that honors the God of the Bible, but it is an army that has their own gods, and wants nothing to do with the sovereignty of the God of the Bible. This is the army that is attacking the saints all over the world, and that is why this army is as broad as the breadth of the earth. This battle is presently being fought all over the earth, and the saints are losing.

Throughout the New Testament era there was a church here or there that went apostate. But there were always congregations that remained faithful to the Word of God. But during the Final Tribulation Period the number of churches that remain faithful will reduce rapidly, because the counterfeit gospel is so attractive to the human soul. As a result, Satan’s forces will massively surround the saints in every part of the world, and the body of believers will diminish rapidly, because their children will marry outside their congregation, and they will bring in heresies that are an abomination to God.

This is the war that is presently being fought and this is the preparation for the battle of Armageddon. It is a race against time.

Will Satan succeed in wiping all the true believers off the earth and create a heaven on earth, or will Christ finally step in and save a remnant chosen by grace?

Well we read here in Revelation 20:9 that “fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them”.

What is this fire?

Well if we compare Revelation 20:9 with Revelation 19:19-21 we see that this fire is Christ coming down from heaven with all His saints. No wonder that we read in Hebrews 12:29, “For our God is a consuming fire”.

We read in Revelation 19:

Revelation 19:19
And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.

Revelation 19:20
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.

Revelation 19:21
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.

Let us compare some Scripture with Scripture here.

In Revelation 14:19 it is the great winepress that kills them.

In Revelation 16:21 it is the great hail that destroys them.

In Revelation 18:21 it is with great violence that they will be thrown down.

In Revelation 19:21 it is the sword that slays them.

In Revelation 20:9 it is the fire that devoured them.

What is the meaning of all these slayings?

The meaning is that all the wicked shall be killed in that Last Day, in order to pass through the resurrection of damnation and so that they all can appear before the Judgment seat of God in Christ.

And the Beloved City

Revelation 20:9
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.

What is the beloved city?

Is “the beloved city” the city of Jerusalem there east of the Mediterranean?

No, that cannot be true!

First of all, at the time that John received these visions, around 100 AD, the city of Jerusalem was already destroyed and laid in ruins. Secondly, I have said it before, and I will say it again: The physical city of Jerusalem, there east of the Mediterranean, together with all the Jews who trust in the Law of Moses, are under a curse.

It is the curse of being in bondage to the Law and being still in an unsaved state. God addresses the New Testament Jewish state in Galatians 4:25-26, where He says,

Galatians 4:25-26
For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

The passage at hand is speaking of the history of Sarah and Hagar, the wife and the concubine of Abraham. Present day Jews in the flesh consider themselves to be children of Sarah. But God says, that is not so.
Here in Galatians 4:25 God says that the present day Jews are not associated with Sarah but with Hagar, the bond-woman.
God says that “Jerusalem which now is” is in bondage with her children. And thus the physical city of Jerusalem could not be in view in Revelation 20:9.

What then is the beloved city?

In God’s terminology the Kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of Satan are pictured as two cities. The kingdom of Satan is called Babylon, or Egypt. The Kingdom of Christ is called the New Jerusalem, which is in heaven, and which is the beloved city. The kingdom of Christ manifests itself in two parts: the saints on this earth, which is called the church militant, and the saints in heaven, which is called the church triumphant.

But all the saints together form the Bride of Christ, which is the New Jerusalem. Presently we are also citizens of the New Jerusalem, and that is why God says in Revelation 20:9: “the camp of the saints and the beloved city”.

God jealously protects the camp of the saints and the beloved city, for He will destroy all who dare to do damage to His church.

God says in 1 Corinthians 3:17: “If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are”.

We see this in Revelation 20:9, where God brings down fire out of heaven and destroyed the enemy.

Fire From God Out of Heaven

There are many passages where God is the great Avenger of His people.
God says in 2 Thessalonians 1:8, “In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ”.

God says in Psalm 97:3: “A fire goeth before him, and burneth up his enemies round about”.

And God says in Psalm 106:18: “And a fire was kindled in their company; the flame burned up the wicked”.

In Isaiah 10 God speaks of using the kingdom of Assyria to punish the nation of Israel for their gross idolatry and their wickedness. Notice the sovereignty of God in the destiny of the saints as well as in the destiny of the heathen nations. After Assyria has done its job of bringing destruction upon the nation of Israel, the northern kingdom, God then punishes the nation of Assyria for their pride and their self-righteousness.

Isaiah 10:5
O Assyrian, the rod of mine anger, and the staff in their hand is mine indignation.

Isaiah 10:6
I will send him against an hypocritical nation, and against the people of my wrath will I give him a charge, to take the spoil, and to take the prey, and to tread them down like the mire of the streets.

Isaiah 10:7
Howbeit he meaneth not so, neither doth his heart think so; but it is in his heart to destroy and cut off nations not a few.

Isaiah 10:8
For he saith, Are not my princes altogether kings?

Isaiah 10:9
Is not Calno as Carchemish? Is not Hamath as Arpad? is not Samaria as Damascus?

Isaiah 10:10
As my hand hath found the kingdoms of the idols, and whose graven images did excel them of Jerusalem and of Samaria;

Isaiah 10:11
Shall I not, as I have done unto Samaria and her idols, so do to Jerusalem and her idols?

Isaiah 10:12
Wherefore it shall come to pass, that when the Lord hath performed his whole work upon mount Zion and on Jerusalem, I will punish the fruit of the stout heart of the king of Assyria, and the glory of his high looks.

Isaiah 10:13
For he saith, By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom; for I am prudent: and I have removed the bounds of the people, and have robbed their treasures, and I have put down the inhabitants like a valiant man:

Isaiah 10:14
And my hand hath found as a nest the riches of the people: and as one gathereth eggs that are left, have I gathered all the earth; and there was none that moved the wing, or opened the mouth, or peeped.

Isaiah 10:15
Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith? Or shall the saw magnify itself against him that shaketh it? as if the rod should shake itself against them that lift it up, or as if the staff should lift up itself, as if it were no wood.

Isaiah 10:16
Therefore shall the Lord, the Lord of hosts, send among his fat ones leanness; and under his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of a fire.

In verse 5 God speaks of Assyria being the rod of His anger upon the nation of Israel. God sends them to Israel to destroy them. God does that. Calamities and disasters and wars and pestilences are not brought on by Satan, but by God. God has His reasons for doing this, and through it all God remains perfectly righteous. But consider now the sovereignty of God in all this. The heathen nation Assyria does not know who Jehovah God really is, and thus they fail to glorify Him for all their battle victories. Moreover, the king of Assyria continues his aspirations and tries to take Jerusalem also. But then God punishes the nation of Assyria for failing to glorify Him, for the king of Assyria says in verse 13, “By the strength of my hand I have done it, and by my wisdom”.

Then God says in verse 15 to the king of Assyria, “Shall the axe boast itself against him that heweth therewith?”

‘Shall you Assyria boast in your strength, and come against my beloved city? Therefore shall the Lord kindle a burning like the burning of a fire, and Assyria shall know that this was fire out of heaven from the God of Israel.’

Like Assyria experienced the burning of God’s wrath, so Satan and all those he has deceived shall experience the burning of the wrath of God at the time Christ comes as the Judge.

Behold, He Cometh!

Revelation 20:10
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.

In this verse God uses the expression “day and night” to indicate the continuous nature of eternal damnation.

Does this verse indicate also the chronology that the beast and the false prophet will first be cast into the lake of fire, and afterward Satan?

Not at all!

We cannot separate the beast and the false prophet from Satan, because the beast and the false prophet are representing the activities of Satan in this world. Satan is God’s busiest servant; the beast and the false prophet are Satan’s busiest servants.

All these things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose. And we must trust that God’s plans are the best plans that could ever have been designed, for God does everything perfectly. That Satan and all those of mankind that are on the side of Satan shall be tormented forever and ever cannot be understood from man’s perspective. It can only be understood from God’s perspective, in the light of the terrible nature of sin as committed against the infinite majesty of the ever blessed and glorious God.

Behold, He cometh, and man shall have to give account of every sin, even every idle word that they have uttered. Therefore let us examine ourselves and let us be sure where we stand. Be prepared, for

Revelation 20:6
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.

Those who are saved are called blessed and holy.
On them the second death has no power, for God says in Romans 8:1-2,

Romans 8:1
There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

Romans 8:2
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

The law of the spirit of life in Christ has given me a desire to do those things that are pleasing in His sight. Therefore I like to be a faithful servant of the Lord and I like to spread around what wondrous things He has done for me. And thus I am reminded of the words the Lord Jesus spoke in Matthew 24:45-47, where He said,

Matthew 24:45
Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season?

Matthew 24:46
Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing.

Matthew 24:47
Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods.

That is a glorious promise. And when I am made ruler over all His goods I can truly say that I have been blessed by God. AMEN.

By Alfred Chompff