And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
When the thousand years expire Satan is set free from his restraint and again goes out to deceive the wicked dead who are then raised in the second resurrection. This loosing takes place at the close of the thousand years that follow Christ's second advent, when Jesus with angels and saints descends to the earth and the New Jerusalem comes down to settle upon it. He gathers the risen multitudes into a vast army surrounding the city of God, persuading them that they can overcome the saints and seize its riches and glory. The attack cannot prevail, and fire from God out of heaven devours the attackers until Satan as the root and his followers as the branches cease to exist. That same fire purifies and melts the whole earth, and then the new heaven and new earth appear for the saints to inherit.
Time and Setting of Release
The loosing of Satan comes at the close of the thousand years, which follow Christ's second advent, and its setting is when the Holy City is on the earth rather than in heaven, with the events leading toward the new earth. The thousand years are still future, and the idea that they were already in the past is an error. During those thousand years the redeemed rest in the holy city and reign as kings and priests, joining with Jesus in judging the wicked and meting out in unison with Him what they will receive. Their thousand-year reign in the city ends when the thousand years end.
The execution of the judgment and the hearing of the final sentence take place only after the wicked are raised at the close of the thousand years, not while they remain dead and not when the saints first stand ready to execute it. The wicked are raised and gathered around the camp of the saints, and fire from God devours them, and this is the final execution of judgment. They hear the King's final sentence only then, and are not sentenced before Christ comes. The seven last plagues are poured out after Jesus leaves the sanctuary, bringing the wrath of God and the Lamb in destruction and death to the wicked, and though the saints are mighty at the voice of God they do not carry out the written judgment at that earlier time. The judgment of the wicked dead is finished before Jesus leaves the city for its descent.
At its expiration Jesus with the angels and all the saints descends toward the earth to the Mount of Olives from which He ascended, and His feet standing there cleave the mount and part it asunder to make a very great valley and mighty plain. That plain is purified and made ready to receive the paradise of God, and the New Jerusalem in dazzling splendor comes down out of heaven to settle upon the prepared place. Christ becomes King over all the earth as one Lord with one name, and He enters the city with His people and angels. Jesus leaves the city for this descent after the judging work in the city is done and before the city itself comes down.
At its expiration the wicked dead are raised in the second resurrection on the desolate earth as a mighty host numberless as the sands of the sea. They rise with the marks of the curse and as they went down to their graves, including the long-lived giant race from before the Flood who come forth with unchanged enmity, character, and desire to conquer. They turn to behold His glory and recognize Jesus as the crucified Savior they rejected, crying from force of truth with unwilling lips what they do not hold from love, still holding the same enmity to Christ and spirit of rebellion with which they went into their graves.
Satan's Final Deception and Attack
To be loosed out of his prison is for his restraint to end so that he again works among the wicked raised from the dead, resuming his deception among them. When the thousand years end he is released from confinement to act among the resurrected host, claiming that he raised them and gathering them to attack the holy city and overthrow God and Christ.
He gathers them under his banner into a vast army and leads them to surround the camp of the saints and the city of God, persuading them that they can overcome the saints, capture the holy City, and take its riches and glory. He flatters them that his army is large and the army in the city is small, imbuing them with his spirit so they believe they can seize the city. He deceives them by claiming to be their rightful ruler and redeemer, their rescuer from death, and the one who raised them, seeking to regain his throne and kingdom.
Seeing the vast multitude on his side revives his hope of victory, and he determines not to yield the controversy but to make a last mighty struggle for supremacy to overthrow God's city. The wicked are his captives because in rejecting Christ they accepted his rule, so they are ready to receive his suggestions and do his bidding. He consults first with his angels and then with resurrected kings, conquerors, generals and mighty men, including the long-lived giant race from before the Flood who come forth with unchanged enmity and desire to conquer, and together they judge the army inside the city small and lay plans to take possession of the riches and glory of the New Jerusalem. All prepare for battle with weapons made by skillful artisans, and the warlike throngs are marshaled into companies and divisions under famed military leaders, with Satan himself as mightiest warrior leading the advance with his angels while the countless host follows in vast companies under appointed leaders with military precision over the broken earth toward the city of God.
Faced with Christ's glory he remembers his former innocence, his envy of Christ and his refusal to seek forgiveness, and he sees the ruin his work among humanity has caused. He recognizes that his efforts against Christ have failed and recognizes the power and majesty of God, knowing the city will not be an easy prey. Though he has gathered them for battle, none now accepts his supremacy, and they recognize that their cause is hopeless.
As the forces surround it Jesus closes the city's gates, and the planned assault to seize the New Jerusalem is stopped. The wicked cannot prevail against God, and their hatred turns against Satan and those who deceived them. They fight among themselves before God's judgment destroys the wicked, and Satan's rebellion ends in destruction.
Final Destruction and Renewal
When the thousand years expire the wicked dead are raised and gather around the Holy City, and fire comes down from God out of heaven and devours them. That fire burns them up root and branch until they cease to exist, with Satan as the root and his followers as the branches. The destruction also employs fire from within the earth, including coal and oil formed from trees preserved there, as weapons against the wicked. This inward fire destroys both the generations that lived after the Flood and the people of the antediluvian world.
The same fire from God that consumes the wicked purifies the whole earth, melting the broken ragged mountains with fervent heat and the atmosphere also, and consuming all stubble. The earth is not cleansed until the end of the thousand years, and the feet of the wicked will never desecrate the earth made new. Then the new heaven and new earth appear, and the inheritance opens before the saints, glorious and beautiful, and they inherit the whole earth made new in glory.
The order is binding in the pit for a thousand years, then the resurrection of the wicked, then the final destruction in which Satan and those who followed him perish together, followed by Christ's triumph and reign on earth. Satan's rebellion ends in destruction, and his punishment is greater than that of those he deceived because he also bears responsibility for sins he led God's people to commit. As they see Jesus and the redeemed in glory the attackers lose courage and recognize the glory they forfeited and that sin brings death. All who disowned Christ and betrayed Him will see the result of their work, revealing the justice of God's judgment, but their acknowledgment gives no further probation because their cases are forever settled.
When the thousand years expire Satan is set free from his restraint and again goes out to deceive the wicked dead who are then raised in the second resurrection. This loosing takes place at the close of the thousand years that follow Christ's second advent, when Jesus with angels and saints descends to the earth and the New Jerusalem comes down to settle upon it. He gathers the risen multitudes into a vast army surrounding the city of God, persuading them that they can overcome the saints and seize its riches and glory. The attack cannot prevail, and fire from God out of heaven devours the attackers until Satan as the root and his followers as the branches cease to exist. That same fire purifies and melts the whole earth, and then the new heaven and new earth appear for the saints to inherit.
Time and Setting of Release
The loosing of Satan comes at the close of the thousand years, which follow Christ's second advent, and its setting is when the Holy City is on the earth rather than in heaven, with the events leading toward the new earth. The thousand years are still future, and the idea that they were already in the past is an error. During those thousand years the redeemed rest in the holy city and reign as kings and priests, joining with Jesus in judging the wicked and meting out in unison with Him what they will receive. Their thousand-year reign in the city ends when the thousand years end.
The execution of the judgment and the hearing of the final sentence take place only after the wicked are raised at the close of the thousand years, not while they remain dead and not when the saints first stand ready to execute it. The wicked are raised and gathered around the camp of the saints, and fire from God devours them, and this is the final execution of judgment. They hear the King's final sentence only then, and are not sentenced before Christ comes. The seven last plagues are poured out after Jesus leaves the sanctuary, bringing the wrath of God and the Lamb in destruction and death to the wicked, and though the saints are mighty at the voice of God they do not carry out the written judgment at that earlier time. The judgment of the wicked dead is finished before Jesus leaves the city for its descent.
At its expiration Jesus with the angels and all the saints descends toward the earth to the Mount of Olives from which He ascended, and His feet standing there cleave the mount and part it asunder to make a very great valley and mighty plain. That plain is purified and made ready to receive the paradise of God, and the New Jerusalem in dazzling splendor comes down out of heaven to settle upon the prepared place. Christ becomes King over all the earth as one Lord with one name, and He enters the city with His people and angels. Jesus leaves the city for this descent after the judging work in the city is done and before the city itself comes down.
At its expiration the wicked dead are raised in the second resurrection on the desolate earth as a mighty host numberless as the sands of the sea. They rise with the marks of the curse and as they went down to their graves, including the long-lived giant race from before the Flood who come forth with unchanged enmity, character, and desire to conquer. They turn to behold His glory and recognize Jesus as the crucified Savior they rejected, crying from force of truth with unwilling lips what they do not hold from love, still holding the same enmity to Christ and spirit of rebellion with which they went into their graves.
Satan's Final Deception and Attack
To be loosed out of his prison is for his restraint to end so that he again works among the wicked raised from the dead, resuming his deception among them. When the thousand years end he is released from confinement to act among the resurrected host, claiming that he raised them and gathering them to attack the holy city and overthrow God and Christ.
He gathers them under his banner into a vast army and leads them to surround the camp of the saints and the city of God, persuading them that they can overcome the saints, capture the holy City, and take its riches and glory. He flatters them that his army is large and the army in the city is small, imbuing them with his spirit so they believe they can seize the city. He deceives them by claiming to be their rightful ruler and redeemer, their rescuer from death, and the one who raised them, seeking to regain his throne and kingdom.
Seeing the vast multitude on his side revives his hope of victory, and he determines not to yield the controversy but to make a last mighty struggle for supremacy to overthrow God's city. The wicked are his captives because in rejecting Christ they accepted his rule, so they are ready to receive his suggestions and do his bidding. He consults first with his angels and then with resurrected kings, conquerors, generals and mighty men, including the long-lived giant race from before the Flood who come forth with unchanged enmity and desire to conquer, and together they judge the army inside the city small and lay plans to take possession of the riches and glory of the New Jerusalem. All prepare for battle with weapons made by skillful artisans, and the warlike throngs are marshaled into companies and divisions under famed military leaders, with Satan himself as mightiest warrior leading the advance with his angels while the countless host follows in vast companies under appointed leaders with military precision over the broken earth toward the city of God.
Faced with Christ's glory he remembers his former innocence, his envy of Christ and his refusal to seek forgiveness, and he sees the ruin his work among humanity has caused. He recognizes that his efforts against Christ have failed and recognizes the power and majesty of God, knowing the city will not be an easy prey. Though he has gathered them for battle, none now accepts his supremacy, and they recognize that their cause is hopeless.
As the forces surround it Jesus closes the city's gates, and the planned assault to seize the New Jerusalem is stopped. The wicked cannot prevail against God, and their hatred turns against Satan and those who deceived them. They fight among themselves before God's judgment destroys the wicked, and Satan's rebellion ends in destruction.
Final Destruction and Renewal
When the thousand years expire the wicked dead are raised and gather around the Holy City, and fire comes down from God out of heaven and devours them. That fire burns them up root and branch until they cease to exist, with Satan as the root and his followers as the branches. The destruction also employs fire from within the earth, including coal and oil formed from trees preserved there, as weapons against the wicked. This inward fire destroys both the generations that lived after the Flood and the people of the antediluvian world.
The same fire from God that consumes the wicked purifies the whole earth, melting the broken ragged mountains with fervent heat and the atmosphere also, and consuming all stubble. The earth is not cleansed until the end of the thousand years, and the feet of the wicked will never desecrate the earth made new. Then the new heaven and new earth appear, and the inheritance opens before the saints, glorious and beautiful, and they inherit the whole earth made new in glory.
The order is binding in the pit for a thousand years, then the resurrection of the wicked, then the final destruction in which Satan and those who followed him perish together, followed by Christ's triumph and reign on earth. Satan's rebellion ends in destruction, and his punishment is greater than that of those he deceived because he also bears responsibility for sins he led God's people to commit. As they see Jesus and the redeemed in glory the attackers lose courage and recognize the glory they forfeited and that sin brings death. All who disowned Christ and betrayed Him will see the result of their work, revealing the justice of God's judgment, but their acknowledgment gives no further probation because their cases are forever settled.