Shepherds Bible Rev CHAPTER 20

1. A nd I saw an angel come do wn from heaven, having t he key of the bo ttom- less pit and a great
chain in his hand.

# I am of the op inion that this angel is Michael, the Archangel. The chain and p it, whatever they may
he composed of, are literal.

did2. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him
a thousand years,

#Note the different names used here. This is done so there won’t be a shadow of a doubt about
whom we are talking. In Aramaic the word chain, means a band that can totally hold. At this time,
Lucifer’s children are still here, but his influence on them is utterly locked away. Do you see the
greatness, graciousness, good ness and love of Yahveh? Even Lucifer’s children will have an
opportunity not to be influenced by their father and will listen to the elect’s teachings and learn the
truth, and will then have a choice whe n Lucifer is released again. That is just.

3. And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should
deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be
loosed a little season.

#Many people ask why Yahveh just does not leave him locked up, and be done with it. We have a
fair and just God. The first fruits, or the elect, had to stand and confront him and have already
overcome. Now the others must confront and overcome Lucifer at the end of the millennium.

4. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the
souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God, and which had
not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or
in their hands ; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

# One of the rewards of the elect is to reign with Him for 1000 years.

5. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first
resurrection.

# Let us fix the time. The last trumpet has sounded. This present dispensation has ended. Death of
the flesh is no longer a reality, because there are no longer any flesh bodies. Paul states in I
Corinthians 15:51—52, Behold, I show you a mystery; we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be
changed (made different). In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump; for the trumpet
shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorrup-tible, and we shall he changed. Paul tells us this is
the beginning of the millennium, because of the last trum-pet. It is important that you note he said
the dead: that is to say, all dead shall be raised. From verse 38 of this chapter, we see he speaks of
the ethnos also. Note, they were raised, not resurrected, but raised to an incorruptible body, mean- ing
a body that would not decay, shriv-el, wither or age. Corruptible (perish-able) and incorruptible
(non-decaying) has to do with the body only. Whereas, mortal (liable to die) and immortality
(deathlessness) has to do with the soul.

# Now let us understand Paul’s explana-tion of this as it applies to this verse. Those who had not
received the mark of the beast were resurrected to immortality (deathlessness). Those, who are only
raised (awakened to an incorruptible body, still have a mortal (liable to die) soul. This connection
with death they must retain unt il Satan is loo sed at the end o f the thousand years. If at this time they
do not accept Satan, they may take part in the second resurrection, thus putting on immortality
(deathlessness) of the soul. But they must stay in this state until the end of the thousand years.
Matthew 10:28 says, And fear not them which kill the bod y, but are not able to kill the soul: but
rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. The word soul, as used in this
quote, is the Greek word #5590, meaning, and immortal soul.

6. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no
power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign w ith Him a thousand years.

# He that comes for th in the first resurrection shall reign with Chr ist one thousand years. This is
another reward of the elect. They are resur-rected in an immortal body. Therefore, they cannot die in
the second death. Nor will they he exposed to it. Note, they will be priests to teach the many that
were only awakened or raised. Unfortunately, some of the ones that are only awakened will be
deceived a second time by Satan when he is loosed. Therefore, they shall die a second time.

7. And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,

# The millennium is over. Blindness has been removed from all people by the teaching of Christ and
the elect. Christ stated in John 9:41 If ye were blind, ye should have no sin. No longer can ignorance
be used as a cloak of innocence.

8. A nd s hall go o ut to de ceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and
Magog, to gath-er them together to ba ttle: the numbe r of whom is as the sand of the sea.

# Here we see Satan’s last stand against Christ. Some people confuse this verse 8 battle which is
post-millennium with Ezekiel’s destruction of Gog and Magog (chap. 38 & 39) and Armageddon
(Rev. 16:16), both of which are pre- millenni- um. Gog and Magog merely symbolize all Gentile
nations in the four quar-ters (corners) of the earth. Yahveh’s purpos e in this is to let each prove the ir
love for Him after they are taught the truth, or, to follow Satan to da mnation.

9. A nd they went up o n 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.

# The camp of the saints, no do ubt, is the millennial temple, built as described by Ezekiel. Note,
Satan’s army doe s not enter into that camp, but only surrounds it. There are no earthquakes or
hailstones this time, only the consuming fire of God. Read Hebrews 12:18-29 for a clear
under-standing of this event. Sin cannot stand before God, therefore, if you are a man of sin, you will
die the second death. In Jude 6 some of Satan’s angels are ordained of old to this condemnation.

10. 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 tor-mented day and night for ever and ever.

# AT LAST, PRAISE GOD! THE END OF SATAN. Here he is only himself. He had this role
stripped from him in Rev.19:20. He is no longer the great false messiah. Ezekiel 28:18—19 has
been fulfilled. He is turned to ashes forevermore.

11. And I saw a great white throne, and Him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven
fled away; and there was found no place for them.
# Refer to II Peter 3:7. Final judg- ment has come. Christ had returned for the millennial age. Now it
is past. There is no place to hide and we see the full Godhead, Yahveh, return with all His glory and
righteous ness.

12. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another
book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were
written in the books, according to their works.

# It would be most presumptuous for man to comment on the judgment. It is the right of Yahve h
only. His books are fair and just. The fate of everyone at this time, will have already been written.

13. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which
were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

# This is the second resurrection. Even those that surrounded the camp of the saints and were
devoured by fire in verse 9 are brought up for judgment. Many shall not be deceived by Satan a
second time after learning the truth during the millennium. They shall be resurrected and given an
im- mortal soul.

14. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

# Hebrews 2:14 says, Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also
Himself likewise took pa rt of the same: that through death He might destroy him that had the power
of death, that is, the dev- il. Christ has destroyed Satan, death and hell. All are devoured by His
consuming fire.

15. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

# Verse 5 states, The dead must remain dead for a thousand years... dead in terms of a mortal (liable
to die) soul. Some of the wicked are devoured by the fire of Yahveh in verse 9. Some might think
that even as they are raised to the judgment, that if they had a change of mind, faith could still save
them. Not so! Hebrews 11:1 states, Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things
not seen. Christ, however, Will have taught them face to face in the millennium. He will be seen.
Thus, it is written in Revela-tion 20 :13 : They shall he judged according to their works. That is to
say, their works alone. Their work of attacking the saints leaves them in a bad light.