A Concise Explanation Of The Book Of Revelation, The End Of The Age, And The End Of The World
C H U R C H R E F O R M S E R I E S
By Biblicism Institute
Satan in the Abyss by Vigovsky
Satan is currently chained and imprisoned in the bottomless pit.
“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed…” Revelation 20:1-3
The abyss is a horrific place, even for demons.
“For Jesus had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man… And Jesus asked him, ‘What is your name?’ And he said, ‘Legion’; for many demons had entered him. They implored Him not to command them to go away into the abyss.” Luke 8:29,30
THE SEQUENCE OF EVENTS
After Christ rose from the dead and went up to heaven in 30 A.D., He patiently waited 40 years for the disobedient Hebrews to accept Him as Messiah. The reason He waited was because the Hebrews were:
“…beloved for the sake of the fathers; for the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable. For just as you once were disobedient to God, but now have been shown mercy because of their disobedience, so these also now have been disobedient, that because of the mercy shown to you they also may now be shown mercy. For God has shut up all in disobedience so that He may show mercy to all.” Romans 11: 28-31
But, in 70 A.D., Christ unleashed hell upon the disobedient ones. He opened the abyss and allowed its resident demons to escape in order to devour them (through war).
“Then the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star from heaven which had fallen to the earth; and the key of the bottomless pit was given to him. He opened the bottomless pit, and smoke went up out of the pit, like the smoke of a great furnace; and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke of the pit. Then out of the smoke came locusts upon the earth, and power was given them, as the scorpions of the earth have power. They were told not to hurt the grass of the earth, nor any green thing, nor any tree, but only the men who do not have the seal of God on their foreheads.” Revelation 9: 1-4
The 4 Horsemen of the Apocalypse of 70 A.D.
All the chalices (and seals) in Revelation were curses God poured on the disobedient Hebrews who refused to acknowledge Him. The trumpets that blasted their introductions along with the four Horsemen were all designed for those Judahite Hebrews who crucified the Lord. However, those who accepted Him fled Judah/Judea before the beginning of sorrows and of the Apocalypse in 70 A.D.
“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is near. Then those who are in Judea must flee to the mountains, and those who are in the midst of the city must leave, and those who are in the country must not enter the city.” Luke 21: 20,21
Soon after Pentecost, Christians took Jesus’s warning very seriously. They started selling everything they had with an eye towards leaving Judah or Judea.
“They began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need.” Acts 2:45
Those Christian Hebrews who escaped the infernal LAST DAYS of the Old Covenant embodied 1) “all Israel shall be saved” of Romans 11:26 and 2) the grass of the earth… (the) green thing… (the) tree of Revelation 9:4 that were not to be hurt.
Consequently, those Christian Hebrews were the ones who did not have the mark of the beast. Their symbolic number in Revelation is 144,000 (12 tribes squared/Father & Son x 1000/many or 12² x 1000). Those with the mark of the beast were annihilated.
In other words, there are NO LOST TRIBES of Israel roaming about. They’re all DEAD. Besides, if they’re lost, why don’t they pick up a cell phone and call someone. After all, this is the 21st century. 🙂
The Apocalypse of 70 A.D. was the day of reckoning for those who killed the Messiah, and the end of the age of the Old Covenant and of Satan’s dominion upon the earth.
“I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:20
“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers…” 2 Corinthians 4:4
While God poured the chalices of His wrath on the disobedient Hebrews and shut down the Old Covenant, the whole earth felt the ripples of the dying Old Order and experienced the birth pangs of the New Order or the New Age as the physical war spread.
“You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes. But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs.
“Then they will deliver you to be persecuted, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name. At that time many will fall away and will betray one another and hate one another.
“Many false prophets will arise and will mislead many. Because lawlessness is increased, most people’s love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end, he will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24: 6 – 14
That end was not the end of the world, but the end of the Old Covenant with Satan the Serpent as god of this world.
Once that age or that order came to an end, Christ zoomed in on that sly devil and had him bound and thrown into the abyss.
Why?
So he would deceive the nations no more the way he deceived the Hebrews and the world.
“The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” 2 Corinthians 4:4
However, only Satan was bound and thrown into the bottomless pit. The locusts or demons that were released therefrom are still rummaging about, like chickens without heads or in this instance without their head Satan. In other words, their capacity to wreak havoc and their deceptive prowess are limited, but to the spiritually naked (i.e. those without Christ) they still pack a punch, albeit not as impactful as before.
“For 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.” Ephesians 6:12
Satan’s incarceration is for a thousand-year period – not a literal thousand, just like the thousand in the following verse is not literal either.
“For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills.” Psalm 50:10
The word thousand in these instances means many or a great amount. The cattle on the thousand and first and second and third hills do not belong to someone else, they still belong to God.
With that same understanding, Satan is bound for a thousand-year time as Christ reigns as King over the earth through the New Order or the New Age, and no one but God knows when that unlimited period will end.
When it does, God will release Satan for a little while.
“…he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.” Revelation 20: 3
Upon his discharge the following will take place.
“When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them.” Revelation 20: 7-9
The beloved city is the spiritual New Jerusalem, not the physical Old One. It is comprised of the Saints of God or Christians.
“I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem…” Revelation 21:2
Christ will intervene in that final spiritual war by “raining fire from heaven” to destroy the enemies of His Bride, the Church Assembly, and by shutting down the course of history, thus bringing about the end of the world. This is how Jesus described it.
“…at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, ‘First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.’ ” Matthew 13:30
The tares will be gathered first. Not the Saints.
“Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.” 1 Thessalonians 4:17
“We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed — in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15: 21,22
Then finally:
“… the devil who deceived them (will be) thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” Revelation 20: 7-10
Satan’s angels, along with those not found in Jesus’s Book of Life and those who supposedly follow Christ but reject His commands, will also partake of the eternal fire.
“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, accursed ones, into the eternal fire which has been prepared for the devil and his angels…’ ” Matthew 25:41
[See How to Become a true Christian and avoid that eternal anguish.]
Those who follow Christ and obey His commands will be rewarded.
“Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.’ ” Matthew 25: 34
And then Christ will start everything over.
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea.” Revelation 21:1
No longer any sea is symbolic for no longer any abyss, the pit wherefrom came the demons.
“The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea.” Revelation 13:1
Therefore, there will be no more demonic and destructive forces in the new earth to contend with.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.” Matthew 5:5
Crushing Satan by Guido Reni
CONCLUSION
Satan is currently in jail, just like an incarcerated mafia don whose goons are running amok in the streets.
That is why the Apostle Paul penned the following.
“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” Romans 16: 20
That crushing was the expected binding of Satan who was subsequently thrown into the abyss.
“And Jesus said to them, ‘I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.’ ” Luke 10:18
Following Satan’s crushing defeat, Christ’s millennial started in earnest and is now in play. Meanwhile a certain manifestation of the new Heaven and the new Earth, in preparation for their prophesied upcoming transformation, is already being exhibited: the Earth is now under new management, with Jesus reigning over it in Heaven through his new chosen people, true Christians, who daily do His heavenly will on earth.
“To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 5:11
“Great and marvelous are Your works, O Lord God, the Almighty; Righteous and true are Your ways, King of the nations!” Revelation 14:3
“But you are a chosen people…” 1 Peter 2:9
Bringing His dominion to bear, Christ is at work, preparing and PERFECTING a special group of people, His chosen, a multitude from every generation and every nation under heaven that will inherit the New PERFECT Earth He will bring forth, along with their New PERFECT Heavenly Bodies.
“I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation and all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, and palm branches were in their hands.” Revelation 7:9
“And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. It shone with the glory of God… The nations will walk by its light…The glory and honor of the nations will be brought into it.” Revelation 21:10,11,24,26
“There are also bodies in the heavens and bodies on the earth. The glory of the heavenly bodies is different from the glory of the earthly bodies… It is the same way with the resurrection of the dead. Our earthly bodies are planted in the ground when we die, but they will be raised to live forever.” 1 Corinthians 15:40,42
ADDENDUM 1
The Apocalypse of 70 A.D., The Prophet Daniel, And The Apostle John
The entire New Testament – including the Book of Revelation – was written prior to 70 A.D. and must be read with that context in mind in order to understand many of its passages.
“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together… and so much the more, as you see the day approaching.” Hebrews 10:25
“I think that in view of the present distress…” 1 Corinthians 7:25
Daniel’s prophecies, which were precursors and confirmations of John’s prophecies in Revelation, also pertained to 70 A.D. and not to a prophetic distant future that has yet to happen.
They foretold the destruction of Jerusalem which God subsequently delivered up to the Emperor of the Gentiles (i.e., the Roman Emperor) during a period that lasted 42 months = 1,260 days = 3½ years = Middle of 7 = Time (1), Times (2), and Half a time (½), and reached its full consummation in 70 A.D.
“In the middle of the ‘seven’ he will put an end to sacrifice and offering. And at the temple he will set up an abomination that causes desolation, until the end that is decreed is poured out on him.” Daniel 9:27
“They shall be given into his hand until a time and times and half a time.” Daniel 7:25
“They will be killed by the sword when all of them are made captives by the Gentiles. And Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles until the time of the Gentiles is fulfilled.” Luke 21:24
It was a period of wrath and judgment due to apostasy: earthly and wicked Jerusalem had become a spiritual abomination, or Babylon.
“And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.” Revelation 17:5
The Apostle John’s prophetic and apocalyptic warning was similar to Daniel’s.
“I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, ‘Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, with its worshipers. But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.’ They are ‘the two olive trees’ and the two lampstands, and ‘they stand before the Lord of the earth.'” Revelation 11:1-4
The two Witnesses are spoken of in terms of the two great witnesses of the Old Testament, Moses and Elijah – the Law and the Prophets.
“The law and the prophets were until John: since that time the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.” Luke 16:16
Prior to the final destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple, the animal sacrifices, performed daily by the Judahites, were abolished by Rome, which then had the image or statue of its Emperor Caligula (Gaius) set up to be worshiped in the very temple which was later desolated by its army in 70 A.D., along with Jerusalem. Emperor Vespasian’s ruthless son, Titus, led the war that year, and for his achievement was awarded a triumph: the Arch of Titus.
“From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up...” Daniel 12:11
The Apostle John actually called the Emperor of Rome the beast.
“The beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image.” Revelation 19:20
He also gave the beast the number 666.
“Let the person who has insight calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man. That number is 666.” Revelation 13:18
The significance of the number 6 rests in the fact that man was created on the 6th day. Therefore 6 is the number of man. And triple 6 or 666 is man puffing himself up from 6 to the third degree, 1 degree more than God’s duality of Father and Son: such was the Emperor of Rome’s hubris in positioning his might above God’s and above his created status.
That’s why the Caesar was nicknamed the Anti-Christ by Christians everywhere, because he was the agent of Satan the Dragon, placed himself above Jehovah and His anointed Jesus, and persecuted Christians throughout his empire.
“…every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God…” 2 Corinthians 10:5
Thus the Prophet Daniel and the Apostle John served as two prophetic witnesses of the Apocalypse of 70 A.D.
“Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” 2 Corinthians 13:1
Every prophecy in the bible has already been fulfilled, except for those concerning the end of the world as explained in the body of the article above.
In addition, the Word JUDAHITE, not JEW, is in the Bible. The word JEW is a mistranslation and causes quite the confusion about the Book of Revelation, especially since Jews are NOT the Hebrews of the bible – all the Hebrews are irrevocably dead. Therefore, the bible is not talking about the Jews nor about modern-day Israel, but about the Judahite Hebrews of old.
“God is not the author of confusion…” 1 Corinthians 14:33
ADDENDUM 2
The Dating Of The Book Of Revelation
[This is an excerpt from Dr. Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.’s article The Book of Revelation and Eschatology]
I hold that Revelation was produced prior to the death of Nero in June, A.D. 68, and even before the formal engagement of the Judean War by Vespasian in Spring, A.D. 67. My position is that Revelation was written in A.D. 65 or 66. This would be after the outbreak of the Neronic persecution in November, 64, and before the engagement of Vespasian’s forces in Spring of 67. […]
Flavius Josephus, the Judahite contemporary of John, clearly points out that Julius Caesar was the first emperor of Rome and that he was followed in succession by Augustus, Tiberius, Gaius, Claudius, and Nero (Antiquities 18; 19). We discover this enumeration also in other near contemporaries of John: 4 Ezra 11 and 12; Sibylline Oracles, books 5 and 8; Barnabas, Epistle 4; Suetonius, Lives of the Twelve Caesars; and Dio Cassius’ Roman History 5.
The text of Revelation says of the seven kings “five have fallen.” The first five emperors are dead, when John writes. But the verse goes on to say “one is.” That is, the sixth one is then reigning even as John wrote. That would be Nero Caesar, who assumed imperial power upon the death of Claudius in October, A.D. 54, and remained emperor until June, A.D. 68.
John continues: “The other is not yet come; and when he comes, he must continue a short space.” When the Roman Civil Wars broke out in rebellion against him, Nero committed suicide on June 8, A.D. 68. The seventh king was “not yet come.” That would be Galba, who assumed power in June, A.D. 68. But he was only to continue a “short space.” His reign lasted but six months, until January 15, A.D. 69.
Thus, we see that while John wrote, Nero was still alive and Galba was looming in the near future. Revelation could not have been written after June, A.D. 68, according to the internal political evidence. Read more here.
P.S. Satan may be in the Abyss, but his legacy continues. See The Star Of David? and Judaism or Pharisaism.
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