The Release and Defeat of Satan

Will open your bibles once again to Revelation Chapter twenty. Revelation Chapter twenty, we're now in the third of four movements, if you will here in Revelation chapter twenty. As we've said, this is perhaps the most difficult and debated and divisive chapter in the entire book of Revelation. And yet I would argue it is also the most encouraging chapter because there is a sense in which it condenses all of the realities that we find in this book. It condenses the reality of Christ's reign, and the reality of his coming defeat of his foes, and the reality of the Age to come, all together in this one chapter. And as we said, this chapter represents a recapitulation or a retelling of a number of these things, particularly the victory of Christ at the end of the age, his victory against his foes at the end of the age. It's a retelling, it's a telling. Again, we've made it clear that we believe that Revelation Chapter twenty, though it follows Chapter nineteen in the order of the chapters, that chronologically it does not follow chapter nineteen, but that it begins again, and that we see in Revelation twenty what we've already seen in Revelation nineteen. I believe that becomes even more clear here in this third movement of the chapter, if you will. In this paragraph, we have a picture that's painted. There are a number of ways that you can view it. The technical term is it's a chiasm, and we've talked about that before. It's kind of a literary x, if you will. We've had passages that we've used to explain that. It's a bit difficult unless you have a visual But another way that you can view this particular chiasm is a picture in a frame. The frame is Satan, and ultimately what becomes of him inside the frame is the nations who oppose God and what ultimately becomes of them. If you don't like the idea of a picture in a frame, then maybe the idea of a sandwich. The bread is what happens to Satan, and in the midst of the bread, whatever you like to put inside your sandwich. That's the picture of what happens to the enemies of God, referred to here again as Gog and Maygog. This picture of the nations that are destroyed by Christ. When you understand this, you get the idea that what's being communicated in this particular paragraph is the culmination, the final resolution of how God deals with sin and its source, or with sin and with sinners, if you will, so, let's look there Revelation chapter seven, beginning, I mean Revelation chapter twenty, sorry, beginning verse seven. Revelation twenty, verses seven through ten. And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog to gather them for battle. Their number is like the sand of the sea. And they marched up over the broad plane of the earth and surrounded the camp of the Saints and the beloved city. Fire came down from heaven and consumed them. And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into like a fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. If you look carefully, you will see clearly that what happens there is Beginning at verse seven, we see the end of those thousand years and Satan being released. Then we see the way that he deceives the nations the way that those nations are destroyed. And then finally after that, there's a picture of what comes of Satan himself. There's the chiastic structure, there's the frame and the picture. There is the bread of the sandwich in whatever you'd like to put on the inside. And so as we examine these, want us to examine two things. One, I want us to examine the fate of the nations, and then second we'll examine the fate of Satan himself. If you're looking at the fate of the nations, you're looking at verses seven through nine. If you look at those again very carefully, we see what comes to the nations. Look again with me. The thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison and will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth. Gog and maygog to gather them for battle. Their number is like the sand of the sea. So there's this large contingent, almost innumerable, and they've marched up over the broad plane of the earth, surrounded the camp of the Saints and beloved city. But fire came down from heaven and consumed them. That's it. It's the only description that we have. If you ask why, I mean, why is that it? But why would that? I mean, this is like, this is like, this is the last battle, isn't it? This is this is it? This is the deal. This is the war, literally the war to end all wars, right, and all we get is and fire came down from heaven and consume them. Really, is that it? No? Actually it's not. You see we've seen this same war a number of times already in revelation. Remember the illustration that we've used time and time again. What happens is revelation. Basically, there's a couple of different ways to illustrate it, Like the opening of a telescope, you know, you open it to one notch, and then the next, and then the next, and each successive time you open it further you get a clearer view. Another way to illustrate this, and I think a better way to illustrate it is the sports illustration, the play illustration. And so you watch and play in real time, and then all of a sudden you watch it again in slow motion, and then you watch it in slow motion and close up. Then you watch it in slow motion from an entirely different angle, and then you watch it in slow motion from another angle, and you piece all of these angles together. You're not seeing a different play, You're seeing a different aspect of the same play, so that you get a fuller understanding of what went on. And we've seen this play before from multiple different angles. We've seen it at high speed, and we've seen it at slow speed, and we've seen it in between. Therefore, when we come to this last time that we see it, all we see is a summary. Nations gathered, God consumed them with fire, and that's it. First, the identity of these nations called Gog and Magog. Who are these people? Because again, if you remember, there are a number of people who look at this particular chapter very differently than we do. There are those who would argue that when you see Gog and Magog here, you're not talking about the same Gog and Magog that you find in Ezekiel thirty eight and thirty nine. That this is different because it has to be different, because if it's the same, then it proves recapitulation. If it's the same, it proves that chapter twenty doesn't come after chapter nineteen chronologically, but that it's telling the same story as chapter nineteen, and the use of Gog and Magog it basically settles the deal. It's over at this point. Premillennialism cannot stand at this point because of the identity of Gog and Magog. Here, it's a done deal this, which is why in commentaries that will argue from that perspective, one of the things that they have to get out there pretty early on is that this reference to Gog and Magog is a different reference to Gog and Magog. It's not the same Gog and Magog. There's another Gog and Magog. This is Gog and Magog junior. Because obviously the other Gog and Magog is done away with, right, We've seen that specifically in chapter nineteen. So now this has to be somebody else, because if it's not somebody else, then we have recapitulation. If we have recapitulation, then chapter twenty doesn't follow chronologically, and there's no reason whatsoever to argue for a literal thousand year reign of Christ on the earth after his first second coming and before his second second coming or even third second coming, depending upon the position that you hold. Okay, they're deceived by the devil. This is a repeat of what we saw not only in nineteen, but in sixteen. Look at sixteen twelve to sixteen. Turn back with me their relation sixteen. Beginning of verse twelve, the sixth Angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings from the east. And I saw coming out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs for their demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. Behold, I am coming like a thief. Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on that he may not go about naked and being seen exposed. And they assemble them at the place that is a Hebrew called Armageddon. So there it is this great battle often referred to as the Battle of Armageddon. We've dealt with. Chapter sixteen dealt with the idea of battle of Armageddon. So I would refer you to earn your messages for that. But the fact of the matter is there's the idea of the whole world being gathered, the whole world being deceived by demonic spirits to come against God. We've seen this before, not just in nineteen, but also in sixteen. This is also evidence of the meaning of Satan's binding. If you remember, one of the most difficult aspects of the amillennial position is answering the question, how can you say that Satan is currently bound? That's very difficult here. People have a hard time understanding that. How can you argue that this is the millennium when number one, it's not a literal thousand year period, the time between Christ's first coming and It's second coming. Again that when you answer easily, the numbers in Revelation are symbolic numbers. This is ten to the third power. That's what a thousand is. Okay, So again ten is number completion, three is number four God again ten ten ten makes sense symbolic number for a long period of time. But then there's this question of Satan being bound, and we've said before that people say you can't argue that Satan is bound because you still see sin in the world. We answered in that verses one through three. The binding of Satan is very specific. The text does not say Satan is unable to do anything. Text says he's bound so that he doesn't deceive the nations. Well, okay, you say that he's bound so that he doesn't deceive the nations. But there's still wicked nations out there, aren't they. Yes, there are wicked nations out there, But that's not the point. What's the point? The question is answered here what happens when he gets unbound. It doesn't say when Satan is unbound after the thousand years, then sin comes into the world again. It doesn't say when he's unbound after a thousand years, then sickness comes into the world again. It doesn't say when he's unbound after a thousand years. And it's very what happens because whatever happens after the thousand years is the only thing that he was bound from during the thousand years. So what happens when the thousand years are ended? Satan will be released from his prison and will come out and deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magov to gather them for battle. What's he being bound from gathering his forces to war against the people of God. That's what he's bound from. That's what he's bound from. You cannot how can you argue that point. It's as clear as day that's what he's bound from. He's not bound from any evil big in the world. Again, because there's the world of flesh and the devil. We already talked about the fact that you and I don't need the devil to make a sinful. Our own flesh does a good enough job of that. If you can't say amen, you ought to say ouch. So what's he bound from? Deceiving the nations to gather them from battle against the people of God. That's what he's bound from. That's all he's bound from. And if you argue that he's bound from anything else, you are reading into the text something that's not there. It's not there. They are assembled for the last battle. This is recapitulation, and the Greek there's the use of the definite article before war, not just war, but the war. And we've seen that a couple of times already. This is the third time that we've seen it. There's a parallel also in Revelation seventeen Revelation thirteen. It is parallel here in Revelation nineteen. But this is the war that we saw in Revelation nineteen, being referred to again from a different perspective, from another angle, extremely abbreviated. Go to Revelation seventeen twelve. And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour. Interesting here for one hour. In Revelation twenty it says he's going to be released for a little while. Same concept, together with the beast. These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. They will make war on the lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them. For he is the Lord of lords, the king of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful. Ezekiel thirty eight, Ezekiel thirty nine, Zechariad twelve to fourteens f and I three. We see this in the Old Testament, and this reference to Gog and make God. This is that last battle. John helps us to interpret Ezekiel. This is very important. John helps us to interpret Ezekiel, so we don't have to look at Ezekiel and say, wait a minute, John has some issues here that are different than Ezekiel. For example, what Ezekiel is talking about doesn't seem to be as universal as what John is talking about. Well, that's where the concept of progressive revelation comes in. John has more revealed to him than Ezekiel does. Amen. That's why we have a New Testament and an Old Testament. So when Ezekiel thinks about the people of God, this prophet of the exile, what is he thinking about? His thinking? He's very limited in scope. But when John thinks about the people of God in this great battle, he has a scope that's very different than Ezekiel's scope. So John helps us to understand what Ezekiel saw. We don't have to we look here, and we don't have to say, well, John must be seeing something different than what Ezekiel saw. No, John's understanding what Ezekiel saw better than Ezekiel did. That's progressive revelation. Listen to Biel. Ezekiel distinguishes Gog and Magog from the other nations of the Earth who ally with them. But now Gog and Magog are figuratively equated with all the nations. Moreover, Gog and Magog are these, and these allies come out of the remote parts of the north in Ezekiel, whereas now they come from throughout the whole earth, the four corners of the earth. This universalization of Ezekiel's prophecy suggests that oppressed Israel and Ezekiel is also universalized, and in fact it becomes equivalent in Revelation twenty nine to the Camp of the Saints and the beloved City, which is to be understood as the Church throughout the earth. John universalizes what Ezekiel sees both in terms of God's enemies and in terms of God's people. But the reference to God and make good is unmistakable. This is not some nations versus other nations. Look at it again, very clearly, a thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from prison, will come out to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth. There's that number four again, there's that number four represent the earth. That it's totality. So when this happens, everyone, all the nations come together against God and his people. This is not some nations against other nations. This is all the nations against God and the people of God. Again, this is not Israel and her allies against the rest of the Middle East, as many will often try to surmise. It's not the case. And this is why every time there's a war in that part of the world there are false prophets who rise up and say this is it. There's Gog and Magog, and then five years later they do it again, as though nobody remembers that they lied before. Their number is like the sand of the sea. This is important. Listen to what Johnson says here. Sand on the seashore is an ancient biblical metaphor for a countless multitude, but in Revelation it receives added significance. It was on the sand of the seashore that the dragons stood, and from the sea the beast emerged to receive the dragon's power and wage the dragon's war against the saints Revelation thirteen to one. As the Harlot's seat on the water symbolize her economic influence over the world's peoples, so the dragons stand on the sand shows his spiritual dominion over the rebellous nations, which now follow his lead against the Church to their own destruction. This idea of sand has been used before a number of times in Revelation, and it all comes together here in Revelation chapter twenty. Again arguing further for recapitulation, they surround the camp of the Saints and the Beloved City. This hearkens back to Revelation chapter three. Go back to Revelation chapter three and look at verse twelve a lot of twelve sixteen twelve three twelve seventeen twelve. Look at three three twelve. The one who conquers, I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God, never shall he go out of it. And I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down from my God out of Heaven, and my own new name. He who has an hear, let him hear what the spirit says to the churches. This is a picture of the camp of the Saints and the Beloved City. This is not a literal geopolitical place. It's not a geopolitical battle. This is not the battle of armies of some nations versus the armies of other nations. This is the spiritual battle of Satan himself, desiring to destroy the church, that beloved city and that camp of the saints, that's the Church. We've seen it time and time again, this idea that at the end of the age there is this outpouring of wrath by the adversary against the people of God. And a number of times in Revelation we see it represented by this number three and a half three and a half years. The idea of three and a half is a broken seven. What it is seven is something that comes to completion. Three and a half means the seven is broken. If the seven is allowed to become the completion, the church is destroyed. But it doesn't get destroyed. That seven is broken. The fullness of the wrath of the adversary is broken. God's people are not destroyed. But make no mistake about it. There will be great wrath poured out at the end of the age against the people of God all over this world, in every nation, there will be great wrath poured out against the people of God. But God is faithful, and we're reminded of that again and again and again in Revelation. This is clearly the same battle that we've seen at least two times before. Why because Christ is not a failed earthly king. That's why Christ is not a failed earthly king. What do you mean? Jesus returns again, is enthroned in Jerusalem, and for a thousand years is here reigning on the earth with a lot of iron, ruling the nations with a rod of iron. Only at the end, according to many commentators, only at the end to see Satan released, and then to we have it revealed that people were obeying him outwardly, but they hadn't really accepted him inwardly. Hence the Great War. Christ is not a failed earthly king. Not to mention the fact that the previous paragraph takes place in heaven. These thrones that we see and the souls that we see are in heaven, not on earth. The other thing is the nations have not been reconstituted. We said this on last week, but it bears mentioning again today. The idea of nations is not part of God's plan. We're not gonna have nations in heaven. Amen. We're not gonna have nations in heaven. Trust me. We will not be divided by our ethnicity and the new Heaven and the new Earth. Amen, hallelujah, Praise the Lord. Not gonna happen, we will not have nations. We will not have nations. We have nations because of the fall. So why then would we have multiple nations on the four corners of the earth during a thousand year reign of Christ on the earth that dog won't hunt. And you're going to have some people who are here like Christ in resurrected bodies. Therefore they will not marry and be given in marriage. But other people who were unbelievers when all this happened, who were converted when it happens, and then they're going to go repopulate the world. And so you have half the people who are in no thank you, no thank you. Not to mention the small issue of the temple being rebuilt and Christ reigning on the throne while blasphemed the sacrifices are being offered on the temple, while Jesus, the last and final sacrifice that satisfied the wrath of God, is sitting and ruling and reigning and allowing the blasphemy, and the same city where he reigns. God help us, God help us. This is a spiritual picture. If that's the identity of God, and may God, what's the destiny they marched up over the broad plane of the earth, surrounded the camp of the saints and the Blood City. But fire came down from heaven and consumed them. Quite simply, they're defeated by God, supernaturally. They're defeated by God. God doesn't send out an army that's more powerful than their army. They're defeated supernaturally by God. That's the picture of being consumed with fire. This is pictured in the prophets. We've seen this, for example in Ezekiel thirty nine, which is exactly what we see in Revelation nineteen. As for you, said a man, Thus says the Lord Ezekiel thirty nine seventeen. Speak to the birds of every sort, and to all the beasts of the field as symbol, and come gather from all around the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you, a great sacrificial feast on the mountains of Israel. And you shall eat flesh and drink blood. You shall eat the flesh of the Mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth, of rams and lambs, and of goats and bulls, all of them fat beasts of base. And you shall eat fat till you are filled, and drink blood to you or drunk at the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you. That's Revelation nineteen, where that's Ezekiel thirty nine. But we see that in Revelation nineteen and again it pictures that battle at the end of the age, which we see again here in Revelation twenty, marking the end of this present age. So that's what happens to those who war against God. But before we move on to Satan, let me let me make something clear here, because oftentimes when we think about Revelation and we think about it from the perspective that we're used to thinking about it from, and we you know, we have these these these books and movies, and you know, all these sort of things, and the locusts represent you know, apache you know, helicopters and all this sort of stuff, and these wars and these nations, and we see people in uniform gathering for a great battle over in the Middle East. And here what that does that allows us to to depersonalize it, if I can use that word. It's not it's not personal, because I'm not a soldier over in the Middle East. Gathering for war against Israel. So this didn't have anything to do anything to do with me. Besides that, more than lack that I'm not even going to be around at that time. So these are like future armies and future soldiers in nations that are going to gather for war. And these people are going to be in trouble because they put on uniforms and take up arms against God. And so we've removed ourselves from the equation. But when you understand the nature of Revelation twenty, you understand that this is not about bombs and bullets. This is not even about literal armies gathering on literal battle fields. This is a spiritual war that Satan wages against the people of God all over the earth. And this involves everyone who doesn't belong to Christ. Everyone who hasn't bowed the need of Christ has bowed the need of the beast. Everyone who's not sealed in Christ has the mark of the beast. Stun rfid chip, folks, it's idolatry. See that's easy, isn't it. All I have to do is not let them put that stuff under my skin and not let them put it into my forehead. And I put it. If I do that, then I'm okay. All I have to do is not join some army that's gonna go to war against Israel. All I have to do is just make sure that I vote for candidates who are gonna be on the side of Israel, and then we're gonna be okay. Wrong answer. Everyone who has not vowed the need of Christ, everyone who has not come to Him and repentance and faith, is part of this in time army that will be consumed with fire. This is a spiritual reality. This is a war in our souls. See it's real easy to back up from this, and you know, to see it in some kind of you know, fantastic sci fi movie that doesn't involve us. But it's very different when you realize that you have to examine your own heart right here and right now. It's very different when you have to ask yourself, do I understand that I am a sinner in need of a savior? Do I understand that Christ died for sin, once for all the just, for the unjust, in order that he might bring us back to God. Do I understand that Christ is my only hope? Do I understand that I must turn to Christ as my only hope, or I have in essence bowed the knee to the unholy trinity of the Beast and the false Prophet and the Dragon, because I haven't bowed the need to Christ, because he is not my all at all, because I do not worship him. And there is no neutrality in this war, none whatsoever. See, there is no room in this picture, in this paragraph for people sitting on the sidelines saying I'm undeclared. There is no room in this picture for people saying, you know, you know what, Jesus, I don't serve you. I haven't bowed the need to you. But I didn't join an army in the Middle East to fight against Israel, So we're okay, right, don't buy that lie. This is a spiritual reality. Every one of us is engaged on one side or the other of this particular battle, as it is represented here in Revelation twenty. Every one of us. After that we see the fate of Satan verse ten. And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beasts and the false Prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever, well, this is the end of the thousand years, and there is this short while, very short while, where Satan rages against the Church. It's not free to do as he pleases. He's never been free to do as he pleases. I believe it was Martin Luther who said, even the devil is God's devil. Amen, He's never been free to do as he pleases. He's on a short leash with a timetable. Amen. He's on a short leash with a timetable Saints, keep that in mind, because oftentimes, when difficulty comes to us, especially difficulty on that cataclysmic level, our first response is to think that somehow God has lost control. That's never been the case, nor will it ever be. And that's what's being communicated here, the Deception of the Nations. Understand the nature of the deception of the Nations again, because we're not talking about literal bombs and bullets here in this symbolic book. We're not talking about, you know, zombies going off to war. We're not talking about people being possessed by the devil and marching off to war as the present, that's not the picture here. This deception is a spiritual deception under which all people live. Turn with me, if you will, to the left and look at Ephesians. Look at Fphesians chapter two, Ephesians chapter two, begetting in verse one Ephesians two, verse one. And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience, among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath like the rest of mankind. That's the deceiver of the nations. And we were all part of the deceived nations before we came to faith in Christ, every one of us carrying out his desires, which were our own desires. Then there's this issue of the lake of fire. Here is another difficulty. What you will find is that there are people who will argue against the idea of eternal punishment based upon the very view that we take of revelation, which says that this is a book filled with symbols. It's a picture book. There are pictures here and you've got to understand the Old Testament and the pictures that are used in the Old Testament. You've got to understand the New Testament in order to understand these pictures and to make any sense of them. That these things are symbolic. And because of that, some people have said, well, yeah, this whole idea here is symbolic too. There's no literal hell, it's just symbolic. So what do we do with that? Do we just sort of symbolize hell and not believe in it? Either a couple of things. One, this language is symbolic. Hell is not a literal lake Amen. Fire in revelation. We've seen it time and time and time again. This is no more actual fire than what was coming out of Jesus' eyes in nineteen was actual fire, or what was going on his mouth was a literal sword. It was symbolic. But what is fire symbolic of judgment? Here's another thing to keep in mind. Even if this is being used symbolically here and this is let me say this please and please please grab hold of this, please grab hold of this, because oftentimes what people say is, well, you know, you take that view and you see these things as symbolic. Well, that messes up your whole view of scripture because now all of a sudden, you don't believe that God literally created the world in six days. Folks, why do we interpret Revelation this way because of the type of literature that it is. You don't interpret the rest of Scripture this way because it's not the same type of literature. Genesis is not apocalyptic literature, so you don't interpret Genesis the way you interpret Revelation. This is important for two reasons. Number one, it's important because it cuts the legs right out from under the main argument against this approach to Revelation, that argument that says this is the way the liberals view the Bible. Well, it may be the way liberals view the Bible. I don't view the Bible like this. I just view Revelation like this. A man, When Genesis says the world was created in six days, I believe the world was created in six days because there's no reason for me to take that symbolically, none whatsoever. However, in Revelation, there's no reason for me to take these numbers literally. Secondly, it'll cut out confusion that even we can have when it comes to reading the rect subscripture. And thirdly, issues like this, is John speaking symbolically when he talks about this lake of fire? Yes? He is, But hell appears in other types of literature in the Bible. Some of y'all didn't just get that right? He is he speaking symbolically? Yes? Does that mean that hell doesn't literally exist? No? Why? Well, One, because of the symbols that he uses, we'll talk about that in a minute. But two, because hell appears elsewhere in scripture, in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, and in the New Testament. When they talk about hell, it's in places that aren't using symbolic language but are using literal language. So we interpret it that way. Amen. By the way, some of you didn't just catch this. So if you interpret revelation that way, then you don't believe in a literal hell. Can I read verse ten for you again? And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever? Who saw the word hell there? Did anybody see the word hell there? Why is that important? Well? If you interpret revelation symbolically. Then you don't believe in a literal hell? Why? Well, because in Revelation twenty it talks about Satan in hell. No, it talks about Satan in a lake of fire, which symbolizes hell. Are you smelling one? Stepping in? This is symbolic language. What is it symbolic of hell? So there's no need to give up on a literal hell just because you see this language just being symbolic. Because this symbolic language doesn't say hell, it says lake of fire and sulfur. Well, what's that symbolic of hell? Amen? Listen to Beal's comment on this, and then I have one passive description that I want you to see. Bring this all together. The lake of fire in Revelation twenty ten is not literal since Satan, along with his angels, is a spiritual being. That's another very important picture here. This is a spiritual being. What is a literal lake with literal fire going to do to a spiritual being? Doesn't fit? Right? He's a spiritual being, so we're gonna put him in a literal lake with literal No? Absolutely not? Okay? Is a punishment that is not physical, But spiritual in nature. The Beast and the false Prophet are not literal but figurative for unbelieving institutions composed of people. Remember we talked about that before. That's another issue, and this is going to become very important because remember, some people are going to argue that either one there's not a literal Hell, or two they're going to say Hell was made for the devil and his angels, not for people. They're going to use that to argue against the doctrine of election and say that God never intended for anyone to go to Hell because Hell wasn't made for people. But what do the beast and the false Prophet symbolize institutions religious and political, which are made up of people even day at night. Is not literal but figurative for the idea of the unceasing nature of the torment, The content here and in the whole Apocalypse must determine whether this is a limited time or an unending period. In particular, the use of the same temporal expression for the saint's unending ring and twenty two five must mean that the phrase in twenty ten refers to an unending period. Is it symbolic language? Yes, absolutely, it's symbolic language. What is it symbolic for? For Hell, an unending judgment, That's what it's symbolic for. That's what it's symbolic for. Here's a last piece, turned to the left one last time. Look at First Peter chapter three. First Peter Chapter three. I want to kill two birds with one stone. Number one. I want to answer a lingering question. And that lingering question is what are we waiting for? Because that's the lingering question God. If God can do away with Satan, and God can do away with evil, what are we waiting for? Yeah, that may not be your question, that's my question. I look at this and I think about this, and I look at this world, and I think about a period where things intensify. What are we waiting for? What are we waiting for? What are we waiting for? I want to answer that. Number two. I want to explain one of the most contented passages of Scripture as it relates to the doctrine of election, and that is First Peter chapter three. The whole God is not willing that any should perish. Verse to argue against the doctrine of election, to paint a picture of God twiddling his thumbs pining away, hoping against hope that people will get saved, as opposed to a God who saves his elect for whom Christ died and does so without question. Because here's the issue that has to be raised when this whole thing comes to an end. Is it because God just sort of got tired? Or is it because of something else that had to be finished? First, Peter three, I'm sorry, Second Peter three. We don't have time to go through this whole thing, but I would just encourage you to go through. Starting your verse one and circle all pronouns. Okay, circle all the pronouns and see who Peter's talking to. It changes the way you interpret this. Look at verse eight, but do not overlook this one fact, beloved that with the Lord, one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as a day. Isn't that interesting? Same concept for a thousand years. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise, as some count slowness. Now again, if you back up to the paragraph before scoffers are going to come, and the scoffers are going to say, why hadn't he done it yet? Why hadn't he returned yet? Peter's answering it. The Lord does not slow to fulfill his promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you. You refers to who in verse eight beloved to believers to believe, follow the pronouns, patient toward you, believers, beloved the elect not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. What does that have to do with the Revelation twenty? Here's what it has to do with Christ died for his elect He died that they might be saved, and their salvation happens in time. Let me put it this way. Generations ago, in the nineteen forties, people were experiencing horrific war, millions dying. One of the most evil men ever seen, Adolf Hitler. He's slaughtering people, and there are a lot of people at that time saying, where is God? We read about this stuff in Revelation. If there's any time when this thing ought to happen, when Christ ought to crack the sky, when he ought to deal with this evil that's going on all over the world, they ought to be Now why not? Why not? Now? Why not? Now? The answer to those people is you, why not? In the forties, how many of us for whom Christ died had not been born yet? When is this going to happen? In Revelation twenty, when all of the elect for whom Christ died have come to the salvation that He purchased for them. That's the only thing holding it up. By the way, the doctrine of election is the only thing that fits there, because if God just sort of doesn't know, then this thing is open ended. But if it's certain, and the number is certain, and their salvation is purchased and assured, then there is a date certain when this happens. And the answer to the question, God, why, what are we waiting for? Waiting for Christ to have the fullness of the reward for which he died, That's what we're waiting for. When Christ has the fullness of his reward, his bride will be complete and he will return to receive her unto himself. The only question that remains is where do you stand inside the camp or outside? Have you come to him in repentance and faith or have you not? Do you worship him and him alone? Or have you given yourself over to idols? Is Christ? You are all? In all? Has he redeemed you from your sin? Or are you waiting on another? Because there is no other, no other hope, no other savior, no other answer. It is Christ, and it is Christ alone. He will do away with sin. The question is when that happens, what will come of you? Let's pray? Father, We bow as a humble and grateful people, humbled by your majesty, by your wisdom, by your power, by your patience and lung, suffering, and grateful, grateful because of the work of Christ that has accomplished our redemption in this present age and for the age to come. Grant by your grace that our trust might be rested wholly upon Christ and his finished work. Grant that our faith might be in Him and in him alone, that our hope might be found in Him and in him alone. Father, we rejoice in the fact that you are the great God of the universe, who will set all things right, And we tremble at the fact that our sin deserves your judgment in wrath. Thanks be to God that in Christ our sins are paid for, our souls are redeemed, our price is paid, and our victory is won. Remind us in times of turmoil that you are still in control, and grant by your grace that we might trust you no matter the circumstances. These things we pray and ask in that name that is above every name, that name at which every knee will bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord to the glory of God the Father, in the name of Jesus, who is the Christ. Amen.