Apocalypse Unsealed: chapter 20
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Chapter Twenty
SATAN BOUND
1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having
the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in
his hand.
2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent,
which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a
thousand years.
3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him
up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive
the nations no more, till the thousand years should
be fulfilled: and after that he must be released a
little season.
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and
judgement was given unto them: and I saw the souls of
them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for
the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast,
neither his image, neither had received the mark upon
their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and
reigned with Christ a thousand years.
These verses prophesy that the nations will not be deceived by
false doctrine for a thousand years. Those who were martyred for
the reality of Jesus Christ and for the Word of God, those who
did not worship the beast or its image, nor had paid the taxes
that kept the beast alive, will be "resurrected," and live again
with Baha'u'llah, the _Christos_ (Anointed One) for the duration
of the millenium. Those sitting upon the thrones in verse 4 are
the members of the Baha'i Universal House of Justice who will hav
the power of spiritual dominion and judgement during the
millenium. <20:3, 20:4> <21:1-2 #2, 3> Baha'u'llah
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assures us that another Manifestation will appear in no less than
a thousand years. The Manifestation will be accompanied by
another time of troubles. <20:4>
In _The Book of Certitude__/1, Baha'u'llah explains the meaning
of the term "resurrection." The Day of Resurrection is ushered
in by a Manifestation of God: "Such things have come to pass in
the days of every Manifestation of God. Even as Jesus said: 'Ye
must be born again.'_/2 Again He saith, 'Except a man be born of
water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born
of the Spirit is spirit.' The purport of these words is that
whosoever in every dispensation is born of the Spirit and is
quickened by the breath of the Manifestation of Holiness, he
verily is of those that have attained unto 'life' and
'resurrection' and have entered into the 'paradise' of the love
of God. And whosoever is not of them, is comdemned to 'death'
and 'deprivation.' to the 'fire' of unbelief, and to the 'wrath'
of God. In all scriptures, the books and chronicles, the
sentence of death, of fire, of blindness, of want of
understanding and hearing, hath been pronounced against those
whose lips have tasted not the etherial cup of true knowledge,
and whose hearts have been deprived of the grace of the holy
Spirit in their day. Even as it hath been previously recorded:
'Hearts have they with which they understand not.'"_/3
In _The Mystery of Sacrifice_ [which is a section title in
_The Promulgation of Universal Peace_], 'Abdu'l-Baha explains the
meaning of other words used by Jesus: "He (Jesus) said, 'If any
man eat of this bread, he shall live forever.' That is to say
whosoever assimilates these divine perfections which are within
Me will never die; whosoever has a share and partakes of these
heavenly bounties I embody will find eternal life; he who takes
unto himself these divine lights shall find life everlasting.
How manifest the meaning is! How evident! For the soul which
acquires divine perfections and seeks heavenly illumination from
the teachings of Christ will undoubtedly live eternally. This is
one of the mysteries of sacrifice."_/4
In the Gospel of John_/5 we read: "Whoso eateth my flesh, and
drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at
the last day." From these words of Jesus Christ, Baha'u'llah,
and
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'Abdu'l-Baha, it is clear that whosoever assimilates the Divine
Perfections of Jesus will have eternal life and will recognize
Him in the last days when He is remanifested. Those Christians
who fail to understand the true meanings of the words of Jesus
and to become as one with Him, shall be condemned to the fire of
unbelief.
The words of verse 4 mean that the heavenly attributes and
virtues of the saintly and righteous of former Dispensations will
become remanifested among those reigning with the Anointed One
during the millenium.
5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the
thousand years were finished. This is the first
resurrection.
6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first
resurrection: on such the second death hath no
power, but they shall be priests of God and of
Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
The first spiritual death befell those who rejected the
Manifestation of Jesus Christ. The second spiritual death will
befall those who reject the Manifestation of the Christ Returned,
Baha'u'llah._/6
7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan
shall be loosed out of his prison.
8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are
in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to
gather them together to battle: the number of whom
is as the sand of the sea.
9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and
compassed the camp of the saints about, and the
beloved city: and fire came down from God out of
heaven, and devoured them.
10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into
the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and
the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day
and night for ever and ever.
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These verses prophesy another time of troubles following the
millenium of peace. <20:4> "Gog and Magog" symbolize the rulers
and peoples who are ruled by satanic forces. That these are not
literal names can be inferred by comparing this use of the terms
with their use by Ezekiel._/7 In
Ezekiel, Gog is the prince of the
Rosh*,_/8, Mesehech, and Tubal in *KJV translates "Rosh" as
the land of Magog. These people, "chief."
along with others from Pharas,
Cush, Put, Togarmah, Gomer,_/8 and elsewhere, are to make war on
Israel in the latter days following their return to the Holy
Land. Clearly the Jews have returned already, and the conflict
alluded to by Ezekiel is either underway or will happen in the
near future. However, in Revelations 20:7 it is stated that a
thousand years will expire during which Satan has been chained
before Gog and Magog are gathered for battle. It is clear that
the events referred to are different events, and "Gog and Magog"
are used in Revelations in the same way as "Har-Magedon" and
other symbols.
In a deeper sense, the use of symbolism illustrates the fact that
the principles and forces underlying historical events transcend
time and place, and are, in essence, the same, independantly of
the actors and the stage.
In verse 9, the "fire from God" may prophesy the next
Manifestation Who will follow Baha'u'llah.
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat
on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled
away; and there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before
God; and the books were opened: and another book
was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead
were judged out of those things which were written
in the books, according to their works.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it;
and death and hell delivered up the dead which were
in them: and they were judged every man according
to their works.
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14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of
fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book
of life was cast into the lake of fire.
These verses revert to the First Resurrection and the Second
Death. The sequence of events is as follows:
Rejection of Jesus Christ = First Death
Acceptance of Baha'u'llah = First Resurrection
Judgement of the dead
Rejection of Baha'u'llah = Second Death
Satan bound a thousand years
Satan released
Gog and Magog wage war on the saints
Another Manifestation (fire from God?) = Second
Resurrection
Satan bound a second time
In verse 11, no place is found for the dragon, the beast, and the
false prophet. "Heaven and earth" refer to the Law of God._/9
The former Law disappears with the Advent of Baha'u'llah. The
Law of God is both spiritual (heaven) and material (earth). The
new Law, the new Jerusalem, will be the subject of Chapter 21.
In verse 12, the Holy Books of the world are unsealed. In verse
13, the sea of humanity, the spiritually dead, and those that are
in the hell of remoteness from God are judged according to their
actions. Verses 14-15 prophesy that the spiritually dead and
those remote from God will be thrown in to the lake of spiritual
torment and unbelief.
Notes to Chapter Twenty
1. _The Book of Certitude_, pp. 47, 114, 115, 117, 118, 119, 143,
144, 158, 159, 170.
2. John 3:7. See also I Corinthians 15:35-50; Luke 23:43;
Ephesians 2:4-7; Daniel 12:2-3, 13.
3. _The Book of Certitude_, p. 118; The Qur'an, 7:178.
4. _The Reality of Man_, p. 50. See also John 6:27, 33-37,
48-50, 52-58. ["The Mystery of Sacrifice" is a section heading
on page 449 of the original work, _The Promulgation of Universal
Peace_.]
5. John 6:54.
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6. Baha'u'llah states in _The Dawn-Breakers_, p.l 586: "Be
thankful to God for having enabled you to recognize His Cause.
Whoever has received this blessing must, prior to his acceptance,
have performed some deed which, though he himself was unaware of
its character, was ordained by God as a means whereby he was
guided to find and embrace the Truth. As to those who have
remained deprived of such a blessing, their acts alone have
hindered them from recognizing the truth of this Revelation. We
cherish the hope that you, who have attained to this light, will
exert your utmist to banish the darkness of supersitition and
unbelief from the midst of the people. May your deeds proclaim
yuour faith and enable you to lead the erring into the paths of
eternal salvation. The memory of this night will never be
forgotten. May it never be effaced by the passage of time, and
may its mention linger for ever on the lips of men."
7. Ezekiel 38:1-4.
8. Possible meanings of the terms as used by Ezekiel are
discoverable from the writings of ancient historians and writers
such as Herodotus, Josephus and Pliny. From these sources it
appears that the Rosh, Meshech, and Tubal may be early names for
the people now known as Russians and Muscovites. Other sources
suggest that Cush may be Ethiopia or the Black African nations.
Gomer may be the Iron Curtain countries. Togarmah may be
southern Russia and the Cossacks. (Reference 39)
9. See commentary on 11:3. As explained in Part One,
_Astrological Symbolism_, the new heaven and earth also has an
astrological meaning. At each new age, the Precession causes a
dislocation of the four pillars of the square earth, a new pole
star, etc..