Satan and the end of the millennium

[The Rogue Tomato]

7 When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, 8 and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. 9 And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them.

I find this interesting, if you believe there will be a 1,000 year reign of Christ on earth, at the end of which Satan is release to deceive the nations. Why would God do this? I have my own opinion on this, but I'd like to hear yours.

Please don't make this a "future millennium" thread arguing if it is true or not. The assumption for this thread is that it is true. I don't know if it is or not, but that's not the point of this thread. Please stick to the premise that it is true, and why God would lock up Satan for 1,000 years only to release Satan at the end.

 

[civic]

That 1000 year period is a time of peace hence no satan.

 

[The Rogue Tomato]

I should add that I believe Ezekiel 38 is misinterpreted as being a prophecy about the end times as we perceive them, that is, before Jesus returns. Look at this:

10 ‘Thus says the Lord God, “It will come about on that day, that thoughts will come into your mind and you will devise an evil plan, 11 and you will say, ‘I will go up against the land of unwalled villages. I will go against those who are at rest, that live securely, all of them living without walls and having no bars or gates, 12 to capture spoil and to seize plunder, to turn your hand against the waste places which are now inhabited, and against the people who are gathered from the nations, who have acquired cattle and goods, who live at the center of the world.’

I don't know the future, but I don't see how Israel will become a land of unwalled villages with no bars or gates anytime in the near future, with people there being secure. This seems to me to be about the millennium, not what happens before Jesus returns.

 

[TedT]

He and his demonic angels are released as the final proof for us, the people of HIS kingdom, that they are in eternal hell because they cannot repent and change their mind about YHWH.

Their choice to rebuke HIM as a false god and a liar is irrevocable - It is their OWN fault they are in eternal hell, not GOD'S legal decision.

There is no rehabilitative value to living in hell. You come out as evil as you go in.
There is no rehabilitative value to being forgiven...forgiving them won't induce a change in their hatred for YHWH.

There is no one in the outer darkness who can be saved by any means. All are irrevocably evil by their free will choice to rebuke YHWH as a false god.

 

[Obadiah]

This is a question I've always wondered about.

Revelation 20:7-10, "When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore. They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever."

As we read these verses, we wonder, "Why will God release Satan at the end of the millennial reign of Jesus Christ?"

Why is God going to release Satan after the 1,000 years? | GotQuestions.org

Why is God going to release Satan after the 1,000 years? Why will God allow Satan to lead one last great rebellion?

www.gotquestions.org

 

[The Rogue Tomato]

He and his demonic angels are released as the final proof for us, the people of HIS kingdom, that they are in eternal hell because they cannot repent and change their mind about YHWH.

Their choice to rebuke HIM as a false god and a liar is irrevocable - It is their OWN fault they are in eternal hell, not GOD'S legal decision.

There is no rehabilitative value to living in hell. You come out as evil as you go in.
There is no rehabilitative value to being forgiven...forgiving them won't induce a change in their hatred for YHWH.

There is no one in the outer darkness who can be saved by any means. All are irrevocably evil by their free will choice to rebuke YHWH as a false god.

This is similar to my opinion (but not quite the same). Jesus rules for 1,000 years. Unlike today, there can be no question by anyone about who Jesus is, and no way to blame Satan for anything. So God is proving that nobody has an excuse for being deceived when Satan returns.

 

[mikesw]

The best I can figure is that Satan's ultimate role was to attract evildoers to himself so they could be exposed and removed from the earth (or at least be accused of guilt of such people before God). To do this, he has had to have the mind and even nature geared to attract people with an evil mindset. Consequently, in Rev 20:7-10 Satan deceives the nations of those inclined toward evildoing. God brings forth judgment and destruction on those nations and the Christians are protected from the intended harm. This ends the need for Satan's function in the world so that Satan receives the judgment he deserves.

 

[mikesw]

A little more context would be helpful. The mention of the thousand years does not pertain to the end of Christ's reign. Nothing indicates that he stops reigning here. Instead, the vision simply fills in details that the original readers of Revelation would have about the future role/end of Satan and of the unrighteous who persecuted the church. In Rev 20:7-10 it is apparent that the Christians remain unscathed by the threatening attack of the nations.

 

[SteveB]

7 When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, 8 and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. 9 And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them.

I find this interesting, if you believe there will be a 1,000 year reign of Christ on earth, at the end of which Satan is release to deceive the nations. Why would God do this? I have my own opinion on this, but I'd like to hear yours.

Please don't make this a "future millennium" thread arguing if it is true or not. The assumption for this thread is that it is true. I don't know if it is or not, but that's not the point of this thread. Please stick to the premise that it is true, and why God would lock up Satan for 1,000 years only to release Satan at the end.

There are going to be a lot of people who survive the tribulation period and are the sheep described in Matthew 25, who enter the Kingdom of God for the 1000 years.
They'll have children, through an undefined number of generations. I.e., children, grandchildren, great grandchildren, etc...
All those people who are born, and don't die during the millennium will survive through to the end, and experience the post millennium period.
As they'd lived under a perfect realm, they will have the choice of believing God, or choosing their sin.
Those who choose their sin will be among the masses who are deceived by the devil. Their choice of sin will be evidenced by the fact they were deceived.

They'll wind up being in the great white throne judgment.

Go ahead with your questions.
I'll answer as best I can.