With this
post John’s record jumps to the end of the Lord’s 1000 years of rule from the
throne of David in Israel.
Revelation 20:7–10 “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. And they
went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints
about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and
devoured them. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire
and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”
After the thousand years, Satan will be let out of
his prison. The Greek for “loosed” is from the word that means to “break
forth, burst, tear.” He is eager for one more parting shot. I
believe it will be a time of proving for all those that have professed
allegiance to the Lord similar to that referenced by Moses in
Deuteronomy.
Deuteronomy
13:1–3 “If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth
thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he
spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known,
and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet,
or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether
ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul.”
Frankly, I believe the purpose for some of things
that the Lord allows in our lives is for that very purpose—to prove us. Those times of “proving” tell the Lord
nothing; He can see right into our hearts.
1 Samuel 16:7 “…for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for
man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”
Those times of proving serve to reveal to us the
true condition of our hearts before God and give us the opportunity to respond
according to that revelation.
The fact that Satan is able to gather together an
army that is innumerable (“as the sand of the sea”) just boggles the
mind. It is one of the most unbelievable truths in all of
scripture. It is just so hard to believe that so many people will once
again be that stupid—especially after experiencing the peaceful, prosperous and
righteous rule of Jesus Christ.
I have no clue who is being referenced as Gog and
Magog, except that it appears to be the same spiritual entity who led the
invasion described in Ezekiel 38-39 and I would assume to be from the same area.
I do not believe this is a reference to the battle of Gog and Magog in Ezekiel
38-39 because of the things that are ascribed to the aftermath of that battle
(e.g., using the weapons as fuel for 7 years, burying the dead, etc.)
Side note:
I have to admit that it is very interesting to see how Putin seems to be
growing in confidence and in asserting his power on the world stage. I think it is highly possible that he could
be the vessel that Gog uses to lead the first attack against Israel described
in Ezekiel 38. Interestingly enough, I
read an article on the web today that talked about a prophecy made by Vilna
Gaon, an 18th century Jewish expert on the study of the Talmud, that
seems to reference recent headlines. He
was quoted in an article dated March 29, 2014, at www.Haaretz.com as saying, “When
you hear that the Russians have captured the city of Crimea, you should know that the times of the
Messiah have started, that his steps are being heard. And when you hear that
the Russians have reached the city of Constantinople (today’s Istanbul), you
should put on your Shabbat clothes and don’t take them off, because it means
that the Messiah is about to come any minute.”
Though I do not consider this man a prophet, I am reminded that the Lord
has often chosen the unlikely, e.g., Egypt’s Pharoah and King Nebuchadnezzar of
Babylon, to reveal things about the future.
Side note 2:
It’s also interesting to note how the revelation of now deceased Rabbi
Yitzhak Kaduri again recently resurfaced in light of the death of Ariel Sharon
in January of this year. According to Israel
Today, he wrote the name of the Messiah on a note that he requested remain
sealed for a year after his death—that name, Yehoshua or Jesus. Quoting from the article dated April 2007: “A
few months before Kaduri died at the age of 108, he surprised his followers
when he told them that he met the Messiah. Kaduri gave a message in his
synagogue on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement, teaching how to recognize the
Messiah. He also mentioned that the Messiah would appear to Israel after Ariel
Sharon’s death. (The former prime minister is still in a coma after suffering a
massive stroke more than a year ago.) Other rabbis predict the same, including
Rabbi Haim Cohen, kabbalist Nir Ben Artzi and the wife of Rabbi Haim
Kneiveskzy.”
I only include these notes because
there seems to be a sense across the world that something big is on the
horizon. Moslems are expecting the soon
arrival of the Mahdi, Saint Malachy’s prophecy of the popes indicates that the
current pope is the last, a series of eclipses on Jewish holidays both this
year and next are considered portents of momentous events in Israel, Christians
are connecting events in the world to the signs of the times recorded by
Matthew in chapter 24, etc. The only one
of the preceding with scriptural validity is the record of Matthew. However, the other things in my list pique my
curiosity because of how they are all connected to the same time period as those
“signs of the times” recorded by Matthew. Only the future will reveal the truth.
Back to the commentary—It would seem that the primary
target of attack of Satan and his armies will be the city of Jerusalem.
I’m not sure what is meant by the “camp of the saints.” I would assume
that all those who Satan was not able to recruit would compose the camp of the
saints. “They went upon the breadth of the earth” seems to indicate that there
are several attack points across the planet. It really doesn’t matter
because Satan and his armies are destroyed by fire from God out of heaven.
Finally, John sees the deceiver, Satan, cast into
the lake of fire and brimstone to join the beast and false prophet (who have
already been there 1000 years) where he will be tormented day and night
forever. Eternity—I can read it and understand it, but I’m just not sure
I can really comprehend it.
(to be continued…)
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