Revelation 20:7 Commentary and Bible Study

At the end of the thousand years, at the end of the gospel age, Satan will be released from the bottomless pit for a short time. The release of Satan must relate to his binding. If his binding means the limitation of his power to deceive the nations, then his release means the opposite. The release of Satan from his prison in the bottomless pit means that he will regain his previous ability to deceive the nations. He was bound so that the gospel could go into the four corners of the earth. Prior to his being bound, he was almost entirely successful in preventing the nations from receiving God’s word, snatching away what was sown in the heart. This verse describes the final apostasy that will take place after the thousand years is ended. The thousand years represents the majority but not the entirety of the time between the resurrection and the second coming. We must leave space for Satan’s little season at the end of this period. The final rebellion is organised by Satan. It is a brief last period of persecution that believers will suffer. It is parallel to verses earlier in the book (Revelation 11:7-11). Satan will be allowed to have a final burst of deception. No sooner is he released, than he resumes his work of deception. His aim is not only to blind again the minds of them that believe not the gospel, but to destroy every believer from off the face of the earth. He will be allowed to come to the very brink of success in this purpose.It will be at this time that the antichrist appears. The restraint that God has placed on the devil will be removed. He will become incarnate in the man of sin, whom he will clothe with all his cunning and craftiness to carry out schemes of deception. The devil working through his antichrist will succeed, we have already seen, in rallying the rulers of the world for the great last battle (Revelation16:13-14). The nations, which are no longer able to resist the flatteries and lies of the devil, will comply. This is exactly the same battle as has been described several times in the book (Revelation 19:19). As in other places, it is a battle fought not between the nations themselves, but with a far more focused aim in mind. It is a battle fought by the devil and his agents against the Lord Jesus Christ and his people. It is the final persecution of the saints and will take place wherever they are found throughout the world.