SATAN LOOSED OUT OF HIS PRISON. THE LAST REBELLION AND FINAL BATTLE. [EPOCH 9 AND DISPENSATION 1.]
WHEN the millennium closes, and these years of rest have come to an end, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison-house, the bottomless pit, to visit this world once more; and he will again come forth as the unchangeable and implacable enemy of God and man, to renew his diabolical mission of stirring up rebellion against God in the hearts of mankind, and to promote every species of wickedness in the world. His main tactics will also be the same as ever,—deceit and lying,—for he is the father of lies; " and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth " (Rev. 20:88And 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 20:8)). The pernicious results of his evil work will soon become apparent, in a widespread apostasy from the truth, and a determined rebellion against God and His people,—the last that shall ever be permitted in this world.
It is sad to reflect that, after such a long and glorious reign of righteousness, under the direct and personal sway of the Lord Jesus Himself, during which the world at large will have enjoyed the highest spiritual advantages that could be conferred upon it, there will still be found in the heart of man that which will respond to the evil suggestions of Satan. This shows us that fallen human nature is ever the same, always retaining its unchangeable disposition to go astray, and to sin against God; even after a millennium of familiar acquaintance with heavenly things and principles.
Human nature, therefore, will be the same in the millennium as at other times; but it will then for the most part be kept in check (through the fear of God's judgments, with which many offenses will be visited in that day) and hindered from manifesting itself in overt acts as at present.
Some may, from the fear of consequences, assume a fair outward show of submission and obedience, while insincere in their hearts. To this class the Psalmist probably refers in Psa. 66:33Say unto God, How terrible art thou in thy works! through the greatness of thy power shall thine enemies submit themselves unto thee. (Psalm 66:3) (margin), " Through the greatness of Thy power shall Thine enemies yield feigned obedience unto Thee;" and again in Psa. 18:4444As soon as they hear of me, they shall obey me: the strangers shall submit themselves unto me. (Psalm 18:44) (margin), " As soon as they hear of Me, they shall obey Me: the strangers shall yield feigned obedience unto Me." Insubordination may thus be lurking in the hearts of many for a long while, without manifesting itself. Then when Satan comes again upon the scene, the subdued embers of discontent smoldering, it may be, in the hearts of many during the latter days of the millennium, will be suddenly fanned by his subtle devices into a furious flame of bold and daring rebellion against God and His people. " 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" (Rev. 20:7, 87And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8And 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 20:7‑8)).
Here we see another gathering of an immense host to a great battle after the millennium, similar in some respects to the gathering at Armageddon which takes place before it. Surely it is scarcely necessary to say that they are totally different events, with at least one thousand years between them. Therefore it would be a great mistake to confound the " Gog and Magog " here with " Gog, the land of Magog" in Ezek. 38 Ezekiel refers to Gog the king of the north, the literal ruler of the land of Magog (probably Russia), and is thus limited; but " Gog and Magog" in the passage before us appears to be a symbolical expression, employed to designate a widespread rebellion " in the four quarters of the earth," whither Satan goes to deceive the nations, while the words that immediately follow seem to point particularly to that portion of the rebellious host that will be gathered in Palestine, to make war with God's people there. " And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city."
Though this last rebellion may be general throughout the world,—as the words "four quarters of the earth" seem to imply,—only that manifestation of it that is specially directed against God's people in the Holy Land is described, doubtless because Jerusalem, "the beloved city," will be God's earthly center at this time. Bearing this fact in mind, we may possibly see a reason for the use of the words "Gog and Magog " anti-typically here, in view of certain similarities that appear between this last battle and the previous one at or near Armageddon.
As the first battle will be against the people of God in the land of Palestine, so will this last one be against the same people in the same land, and probably in nearly the same part of that land; while the results in both cases will be exactly alike, namely, the utter destruction of the enemies of God, though the mode of their destruction will be different. Therefore we can see the appropriateness of using the same appellation—Gog and Magog—in the second as in the first case, the first bearing a literal, and the second a figurative application, especially as Armageddon seems to be taken as a type of the last battle.
These post-millennial rebels, lured by Satan's deceptions,. are seen in the vision going up "on the breadth of the earth," but to what extent or with what general results we are not informed, as the seer only records their action in one locality in Palestine, the "camp of the saints... and the beloved city " (Rev. 20:99And 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 20:9)).
To ascertain what this " camp of the saints." may be, we have to turn to Ezekiel and Zechariah., In these prophecies we have already seen that in the millennium Jerusalem will be the metropolis of the world, whither all the nations are to go up to worship God; also that new and special arrangements will be made for carrying on this worship, and the services of the sanctuary.: and that in the new division of the land a large square space will be set apart for these purposes, and divided into three portions,—one being for the priests, and called the most holy, in the midst of which the sanctuary will be situated; another for the Levites, and the third, known as the common place, which will include the city of Jerusalem. Within the sacred precincts of this consecrated ground, all sacrifices and offerings will be made, and the priests and Levites will have their dwelling-places there, while the symbol of the Divine presence will be seen, as in the camp of the children of Israel in the wilderness, and the Lord Himself as the glorious King will be in the midst of all. This holy spot—which includes the beloved city—will, I doubt not, be the "camp of the saints" of God referred to; against which these daring rebels will go up to battle at this time.
But their destruction will be terribly swift and complete, by a direct judgment from God out of heaven, as it was in the case of the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. "And fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them " (Rev. 20:99And 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 20:9)).
[In the chart, the return of Satan to the earth is shown by the upward movement of the serpent, and the shaded space after it indicates the last apostasy and rebellion.]
Thus, sometime after the millennium (we are not told how long), the history of this fallen world closes in this sad and awful manner, for it is the last information we have in Scripture of human beings on this present earth.
Quickly following this last judgment, the great enemy of God and adversary of mankind, the devil, will be finally cast out,—not now into the bottomless pit, where he had been previously bound for a thousand years,—but 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 "(Rev. 20:1010And 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. (Revelation 20:10)). [See in the chart the serpent line descending for the last time.]
In Rev. 13 we saw the diabolical trinity of evil,—the dragon, the first beast, and the second beast or false prophet (Antichrist),—putting forth all their malignant power; led on and energized by the dragon, and fighting against God and His saints. A thousand years before the time we are now dwelling upon, two members of this awful trinity—the beast and false prophet—will have been cast alive into the lake of fire; and now their princely leader, the chief of the devils, the terrible dragon himself, is also cast into the same place, whence neither he nor any of his deluded followers will ever be permitted to go forth again to fight against God. How awful to contemplate the doom of those two persons,—the beast and the false prophet,—who by this time will have been tormented in this lake for more than a thousand years, and yet it is added of them and of the devil, " And shall be tormented day and night forever and ever!"
In this connection we may also quote the words in Rev. 14:9-119And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, 10The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: 11And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name. (Revelation 14:9‑11), that describe the similarly appalling doom of him who worships the beast and his image, and receives his mark in his forehead, or in his hand. "The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb; and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever; and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name." Our Lord, in recounting the fate of the ungodly, also refers to this same awful fire: "Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched" (Mark 9:44, 46, 4844Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. (Mark 9:44)
46Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. (Mark 9:46)
48Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. (Mark 9:48)). But, thank God, a perfect way of escape is provided, by faith in Christ and His atoning work, for all who will now believe.