Revelation 20 - In Depth Bible Commentaries

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(...continued)
“At another time certain Greeks wished to see Jesus. Jesus remarks: ‘Now is the
judgment of this world; now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up
from the earth, will draw all men to myself.’ Be sure to observe that a word is used which has
the same root, in the original, as the term which we translate ‘casting’ or ‘hurling’ into the abyss
(Revelation 20). Even more important is the fact that here, in John 12:20-32, the casting
out of satan is associated with the fact that not only the Jews, as was the rule in the past, but
‘all men’--Greeks as well as Jews--shall be drawn to Christ. All this shall happen as a result of
Christ's suffering on the cross and the sending of the Holy Spirit. Colossians 2:15 very definitely
associates the ‘despoiling’ of satan and his armies with Christ's triumph on the cross.
Revelation 12:5ff. clearly shows that ‘the casting out’ of satan was a result of Christ's coronation.”
(Pp. 187-90)
Colossians 2:15 states that, avpekdusa,menoj ta.j avrca.j kai. ta.j evxousi,aj evdeigma,tisen
evn parrhsi,a|( qriambeu,saj auvtou.j evn auvtw/|, “stripping off / disarming the rulers and the
authorities, He [Christ] exposed them boldly by Himself, leading them in triumphal procession
by Himself.” This is not something that is depicted as a future event, but rather, is an explanation
of what Christ has already accomplished “by the execution-post / cross” (see verse 14).
Hendriksen continues:
“Realize, therefore, that in all these passages the binding and casting out or falling of
satan is in some way associated with the first coming of our Lord Jesus Christ...The binding of
satan, according to all these passages, begins with that...coming. Again, in some of the texts
which we have quoted, this binding, etc., is definitely associated with the work of missions and
with the extension of the witnessing church among the nations. In close harmony with all
these scriptural passages...we conclude that here also in Revelation 20:1-3 the binding of
satan and the fact that he is hurled into the abyss to remain there for a thousand years indicates
that throughout this present gospel age the devil's influence on the earth is curtailed. He
is unable to prevent the extension of the church among the nations by means of an active missionary
program. During this entire period he is prevented from causing the nations--the world
in general--to destroy the church as a mighty missionary institution. By means of the preaching
of the word as applied by the Holy Spirit, the elect, from all parts of the world, are brought
from darkness to light. In that sense, the church conquers the nations, and the nations do not
conquer the church...
“The particularism of the old dispensation has made place for the universalism of the
new. The Bible has been translated into more than 1,000 [today, 2,000+!] languages. The
influence of the gospel upon the thought and life of mankind can scarcely be overestimated.
In some countries the blessed truths of Christianity affect human life in all its phases: political,
economic, social, and intellectual. Only the individual who lacks the historic sense and is,
therefore, unable to see the present in the light of conditions which prevailed throughout the
world before Christ's ascension, can fail to appreciate the glories of the millennial age in which
we are now living. The prophecy found in Psalm 72 is being fulfilled before our eyes...The
church, indeed, exerts a tremendous influence for good upon almost the entire complex of
human life.
(continued...)
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