Around the twentieth chapter of the book of Revelation have raged the fires of controversy. Few chapters of the Bible have been so greatly disputed and attacked; and few passages of scripture have furnished so much battle-ground (more especially after the first few centuries of the Christian era). In our judgment nothing could better prove the importance of this chapter to the Christian and to all men. Whenever upon any portion of the word of God much conflict centers, it is certain that the powers of darkness, at least, recognize the strategic value of that particular portion of scripture. Let us approach the study of this chapter with reverence and godly fear, not in the spirit of partisan controversy nor with intention of shaping it to our own foregone notions, but to learn what its inspired words would teach us.

      First of all we must notice the close sequence of the twentieth chapter of Revelation upon the events of the preceding chapter. In the nineteenth of Revelation the great drama of the Apocalypse comes to a climax. The forces of Satan--the Beast, and his false prophet, and the kings of the earth and their armies are massed for the last conflict and a final show-down. Out of the opened heaven comes the Conqueror--the rightful Ruler and Possessor of all the earth, the Lord of lords and King of kings, followed by the armies of heaven (His called ones, chosen and faithful, Rev. 17:14) for the final fray, popularly spoken of as "the battle of Armageddon." But there is no battle nor anything that could be called a conflict. The hosts of the Beast are paralyzed, and none of the men of might have found their hands. They are brought to nought by the brightness of His appearing. The Beast is taken, and with him the false prophet who wrought the signs in his sight, and they two are cast alive into the lake of fire, and the rest are slain by the sword which proceeds out of the mouth of Him who comes to take possession: He speaks the word and (as once the Assyrian host in the long ago) the hostile armies sink into a deep sleep. It is at this point that the twentieth chapter of the Revelation takes up.

      The first paragraph of our chapter concerns Satan. His doom and end as "the prince of the world" was sealed at the Crucifixion and Resurrection of our Lord; and though he has continued in authority as "prince," and as "god of this age," he has done so without a semblance of right. It was in God's wise plan to let him play out rather than to depose him at once. But now his last card has been played, and he has lost out in his last, mightiest and most desperate effort. Now an angel descending from heaven lays hold on him, binds him, and securely imprisons him for a thousand years. [77]

      The second paragraph tells of Christ's taking over the government so long exercised by the august rebel-spirit, and in the last days administrated for him by his last, most efficient and powerful agent, who in Rev. 13 and 17 is called "the Beast." This event was foreannounced at the sounding of the seventh trumpet in Rev. 11:15 ("The kingdom of the world is become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever") and now becomes accomplished fact. John sees thrones, and their. occupants who are, (1) a class simply designated as "they"--which pronoun could have no other antecedent than the company of the saints, "the armies of heaven" who follow in His train, that came down with Christ out of the opened heaven; (2) the souls of them that were beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God--souls that now "lived" (i. e., were resurrected--exactly the same word that is used of the resurrection of Christ in Rev. 2:8); (3) such as worshipped not the beast, neither his image, and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand. Of these three classes it is stated that they "lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years." As for the rest of the dead--none of them lived again until after that thousand years. This (John declares) is "the first resurrection"; and then pronounces a beatitude upon those who are accounted worthy of this high privilege: "over these the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years."

      The rest of the chapter tells what is to come to pass after the thousand years: (1) Satan is to be loosed for a brief season; (2) he will once more incite nations to rebellion--a rebellion which is dealt with in half a sentence; (3) Satan is then cast into the lake of fire, where are the beast and the false prophet, who a thousand years before had been cast into the same place--which marks the ultimate end of all his career; (4) a great white throne appears, and from before the face of Him that sits upon the throne, the earth and the heaven flee away and there is no place found for them; (5) John sees the dead, the small and the great, all those who had not been raised in the first resurrection, standing before the throne, to be judged according to the records written in the books; and all whose names are not found in the book of life are cast into the lake of fire, which is the doom called "the second death."

      This is a brief summary of the contents of this wonderful and solemn chapter. And now, reluctantly let us take a look and see what men (some men) have made of it. The commonest exegesis (which in our days and in some quarters is set up as the one sound and orthodox interpretation of this [78] chapter) consists chiefly of a series of denials.

      1. It is denied that Satan is thus bound in the future. Most of the exegetes who take this ground say that he has been bound and is being progressively bound by the spread of the gospel and the conversion of sinners.

      2. It is denied by some that there will be any future "Millennium" during which the nations are no more deceived by Satan.

      3. It is denied that a thousand years here means a thousand years. The number 1000 is symbolic (we are told) and may mean some mystic period, long or short--that is, if it has any numerical significance at all.

      4. It denies that the saints will reign on earth with Christ for a thousand years; and holds that only martyrs, "who had been beheaded for the testimony of Christ," are in view, not real, literal human beings, but only "souls."

      5. It denies that the prophecy of this chapter has anything to do with the earth at all.

      6. It denies that any of this has any connection with the Second Coming of Christ.

      7. It denies that this chapter speaks of any "literal resurrection" of the righteous dead, and of the wicked dead a thousand years later. The resurrection spoken of (they say) is symbolical, a resurrection of "souls," as it were. All the dead are to be raised in the same hour. Some explain that the "first resurrection" is baptism.

      8. It takes the position, avowedly or by implication that the book of Revelation in general, and this chapter in particular, is not to be relied on as definite testimony to anything.

      If we ask those who take such positions concerning this chapter to tell us what the chapter does mean, the answers are vague and evasive. Some honestly confess that they do not know what it means; but they are quite sure that it does not mean what it says. It is "highly figurative." It is "symbolical." It is one of the most symbolical portions of that most obscure and symbolical of all the books of the Bible, the book of Revelation. Really nobody knows what it means. It is all a matter of guesswork and speculation. And, after all, it has nothing to do with our salvation, and therefore why should we trouble ourselves about it.

      If that is the case it strikes us as strange that this book should have been so earnestly urged upon our attention--as for example in 1:3--"Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of the prophecy of this book, and keep the things that are written therein: for the time is at hand"; or in 22:9, where the angel says to John, "I am a fellow-servant with thee . . . . and with them that keep the words of this book." (22:18, 19.) And again and again--as if to forestall [79] the human tendency to devaluate the importance and significance of these words--we are assured of their solemn worth and validity: "These are true words of God" (19:9); and "Write, for these words are faithful and true" (21:5); "and he said unto me, These words are faithful and true" (22:6). If these words had no definite meaning, if no one can understand them; if they were profitless and so obscure as to be only misleading--why are they so earnestly recommended to us and urged upon our attention? We shall do well here to let God be true, though all men be liars.

      But let us examine some of those negations and controverted points.

      1. As to the binding of Satan: it has been thought by some (on the strength of the statement in Matt. 12:29) that Satan is bound already. But it must be obvious that the binding spoken of in Matt. 12:29 was merely relative to the isolated acts of power performed by Christ and his messengers. Satan was not so bound that he could not do his worst after that in the crucifixion of the Lord and in the persecution and corruption of the church. He is still, by apostolic testimony, the "god of this world," and "goeth about as a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour." (2 Cor. 4:4; 1 Pet. 5:8). And it must not be overlooked that in Rev. 20 Satan is not only bound, but entirely removed from off the stage, being imprisoned in the abyss for a thousand years; and that not that he should be powerless to harm the saints, but that he might not be able to deceive the nations any more during said period.

      2. Whether or not the scene of this reign of Christ with His saints has anything to do with the earth, is easily determined. It is "the kingdom of the world" that Christ and His saints come down to take possession of (Rev. 11:15; 19:11-27). It is on the earth that the final clash takes place. It is over the nations that He with His saints will reign. As foretold by Daniel, "The kingdom and the dominion and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven (not up in heaven) shall be given to the people of the saints of the Most High" (Dan. 7:27). When, after the loosing of Satan, some of these nations are once more deceived by him and stirred into rebellion, they are said to come across "the breadth of the earth," and compass about "the camp of the saints" and "the beloved city." Clearly that "beloved city" then and "the camp of the saints" is located on the earth. The whole scene of the reign, as well as the final rebellion, is located on earth. So much for the claim that Rev. 20 has nothing to do with any reign on earth.

      3. It is hardly necessary, when the connection of Rev. 20 with Rev. 19 is observed, to refute the objection that the events of Rev. 20 have nothing to do with the Second Coming [80] of Christ. After the descent described in Rev. 19:11-21 the Lord and His armies--the saints--are here, that is to say, they have come down with Him to the earth.

      4. As to the point that it was only "souls," not real human beings that are said to reign with Christ a thousand years--here those who spiritualize become very literal. The use of the word "souls"' to designate persons is very common. Eight souls were saved in Noah's ark (1 Pet. 3:20). Seventy-five souls of the family of Jacob came down to Egypt. (Acts 7:14.) Two hundred and seventy-six souls were on Paul's ship (Acts 27:37). These were certainly not ghosts. Why must "souls" in Rev. 20 be disembodied spirits? But be it so--it says that John saw the souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God. That much if we stop here might mean (as in Rev. 6:9, 10) disembodied souls. But is that all that is said about them? No: it is said that "they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." Now in Rev. 2:8 the same word "lived" is used to designate the resurrection of Christ. These souls lived; and there was thenceforth no more death for them. ("Over these the second death hath no power," Rev. 20:6.) But the rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years were finished. Clearly then these "souls" that "lived" were' saints raised from the dead. They are one part of the number that are raised in the first resurrection. There is no difference whatever in this language.

      5. The objection to the literalness of "the first resurrection" is based on the statement of John 5:28, 29, where the Lord declares that "the hour cometh in which all that are in the tombs shall hear his voice and shall come forth; they that have done good unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil unto the resurrection of judgment." This, it is thought, would make impossible a first resurrection, separated from the resurrection of "the rest of the dead" by the interval of a thousand years. To be sure if we had only the statement of John 5:28, 29 it would be most natural to conclude that the resurrection of all men will be simultaneous. But if other, more detailed statements of God's word make a distinction between a special, earlier, resurrection, and another to follow later, we must here, as always, take all the statements together in harmony; for they are by no means incompatible. Such a resurrection from among the dead of those who are accounted worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from (Greek, "ek," "out of") the dead was spoken of by the Savior Himself (Luke 20:35); also Paul mentions such a special resurrection, which must be "attained," in Phil. 3:11. And indeed one company of God's saints has been raised already, coming forth from their tomb's at the time of [81] Christ's resurrection. (Matt. 27:52.) We must omit the discussion of the unspeakably solemn and sublime scene of the Great White Throne and the last Judgment; but in conclusion may I recommend to you and to all God's people the twentieth chapter of Revelation as it stands, at its plain meaning and face value, as being "sound doctrine," and very full of comfort as well as solemn warnings, to all who will read and hear it, and that it is a faithful word and worthy of all acceptation. [82]

[SSS 77-82]