“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 plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them, 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” (Revelation 20:7-10 ESV).
In the opening verses of Revelation chapter twenty, we read how our author saw “…an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key to the bottomless pit and a large chain in his hand. He overpowered the serpent, that ancient snake, named Devil and Satan. The angel chained up the serpent for 1,000 years” (Revelation 20:1-2 GW).
Given what we know about the devil, we might ask why he was incarcerated for this relatively brief thousand year period. For instance, why was he not imprisoned for ten thousand years? Or a million years? Why was he released at all? To answer those questions, it’s helpful to examine the relationships that will exist among the various governments and national populations in the millennial era.
We can begin by establishing several parameters based on our text from this chapter:
- Jesus will reign for a thousand years (verse four).
- Those who were previously beheaded “…for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God” under the administration of the beast will reign with Christ (verse four).
- Judgment will be committed to others during that period, likely those who have served God through the ages (verse four).
- National people groups will exist during that era (verses three and eight).
With these things in mind, we can say that the citizens of these nations will live under the direct oversight of Christ and His designated representatives. Those individuals (and their children) will live in societies that are just (because Jesus is in charge) and free of sinful temptations (because the devil has been imprisoned). Everyone’s conduct will honor God during that period because there will be no other options. That is, until the devil is released from captivity.
Much like the events that unfolded in the Garden of Eden’s perfect environment, humanity will face a choice once again during this period. Will these members of the human family serve God willingly with an attitude of love and respect, or will they serve His adversary? Revelation 20:8-9 tells us that a human population who “…will be as numerous as the grains of sand on the seashore” (GW) will choose that latter path with disastrous results.