The first time I got Covid was when we were visiting my sister in England. After I had served my time in isolation, I began going on walks to get some exercise. On one occasion, a ferocious dog came running towards me, I had a slight panic, until I saw the chain! After this I could walk on by with no fear, for the hound was bound!
Revelation 20 tells us a similar thing is true of the devil, in v2 we are told he has been bound. I think the best explanation of this is when Jesus tells us that in His ministry He is binding up Satan (Mark 3:27). Jesus speaks these words just after he’s healed a demon-possessed man. The Pharisees accused him of doing this by power of Satan. Jesus says, why would Satan drive out Satan! Jesus is saying He has bound Satan, so that he can plunder him, that is set people free from being under his rule.
So what John is seeing in Revelation 20, is the effect of Jesus’ ministry, that has left Satan bound. Well you may be thinking, in what way is Satan bound? Doesn’t he seem pretty active still, how can he be bound? I think the answer is in v3, the reason why Satan is bound is so that he can no longer deceive the nations. Think about the change that happened after the ministry of Jesus. Up until Jesus’ death and resurrection, God’s people were basically just Israel. There were one or two outsiders brought in, but otherwise it was simply the nation of Israel. The rest of nations were deceived, they had no knowledge of God. But what happened after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension? On the day of Pentecost when God’s Spirit was poured out, Peter preached about Jesus, and 3000 came in, and from there, the good news of Jesus spread to the ends of the earth. Now all over the world there are Christians. Satan has been bound, he cannot deceive the nations any longer! This is good news, it means you can have confidence to share your faith, now is a unique time of opportunity, are you making the most of it?
This day of opportunity won’t last forever, we are told after 1000 years Satan will be released for a little while (v3). Given the symbolism of numbers in Revelation, it is unlikely this is a literal time period, it’s more like when the psalmist speaks of the cattle on a thousand hills, he means all of them. The 1000 years means all the time between Jesus ascension and return, and at the end of this—Satan will be released. So make the most of the opportunity while we have it.
I suspect that one of the things that stops us from making the most of every opportunity to speak about Jesus is fear, fear of what people might think of you or do to you. To help us with this, John gives us a glimpse of the worst that can happen. In v4-6 we see that the worst that can happen is that you will be killed! Now, I admit that doesn’t seem to encouraging, but John wants us to see that for all who die trusting in Jesus, death is not the end! They are reigning with Christ right now, they are blessed, and they won’t be harmed by the second death. In v1-3, we get the view from earth, the gospel going forward because Satan is bound, and then in v4-6 we get the view from heaven, those who have died in Christ are already reigning with Him.
But then we are told Satan must be released (v7), so he can deceive the nations into one final battle. This is another camera angle on the battle as we’ve seen before (ch 16 Armageddon, 17:14, 19:19). It looks terrifying, the attack seems to come from every angle, the four corners of the earth. Here it seems all the earth is against God’s people.
But when things look at their worst – victory is at hand.
Just as before (ch16,17,19), there is no battle! Even though it looked so threatening… Fire comes down and consumes. Can you imagine the relief for God’s people!
When you face danger, and you come out alive, it’s such a good feeling! Perhaps, it’s why God allows the release of the devil so that His people will see how great God is in rescuing them, we will see there is no more enemy to be feared. It will be the start of the celebration! All evil defeated, the new heaven and the new earth are just around the corner! Who will get to enjoy it? In the final part of the chapter—we find out. We’ve seen that those who die trusting in Jesus, have already gone to reign with him and will be raised physically. But those who died without trusting in Christ will also be raised (v12 dead standing), they are not raised to reign, but for judgment. There is nowhere to hide (v11),
Judgment is based on what you’ve done (v12), nothing has been missed by almighty God, all has been written down. Every thought, action, everything we should have done but haven’t. The weight of evidence against us is overwhelming. There would be no hope, but wonderfully, there is another book—the book of life! If you’re name is in that book—you won’t face the second death! Here’s the all important question. Is your name in the book of life? If your name is in the book of life, then you will only die once, you will then reign with Christ, and at Christ’s return you will be raised physically from the dead to enjoy the new heaven and new earth with all God’s people.
But if your name is not in that book, you will face the second death, the lake of fire, which is picture language for the awfulness of hell (v15).
So how do you know if your name is in the book of life? Remember at the beginning of Revelation we were told that Jesus loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood (1:5). The all important question is, have you accepted His love and asked Him to free you from your sins by His blood? If you haven’t, please allow me to urge you to come to him as we end this year and start the new year confident that your name is in the book of life. If you know you have already accepted Jesus, then please allow me to urge you (and please urge me!) to make the most of this time of gospel opportunity while Satan is bound.
Light and Momentary Troubles 
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