Revelation 20:7 Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. 9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.

As one holding to the Realized Millennial (amillennialism) viewpoint I understand the time from the cross until the releasing of Satan from his confinement (which while bound allowed the spreading of the Gospel of Christ) to be the 1000 years mentioned here in Revelation 20. Many have speculated on what exactly this binding of Satan entails and each speculation reflects the point of view held by each of the several endtimes camps exisiting today.

Seldom do we find in this speculation just what the loosing of Satan will entail as he wreaks havoc upon the earth. We all seem to understand that his time will be short and his end will come in one swift infernal act from God Almighty. But do we actually know who it is that Satan is deceiving and what this battle entails?

The following is one such thought given for your consideration. This idea is an opinion based on not only what we see happening within the ranks of christianity today but has sound historical support considering the spirtual nature of this constant warfare fought on many battle fronts since the Genesis even to some years after the Cross of Christ. The following has been submitted by a friend of mine and a true sister of the faith.

So we see we have an example of how Satan manifested his wrath towards the saints in the 1st century. This I believe, is the picture that Revelation gives us concerning this time that preceded and fulfilled the prophecied judgment upon Israel in 70 AD. A judgment which effectively ended that age of Judaism by destroying the temple as well as the city full of apostates.

It is not hard to see that Rome & Nero fit the beast and apostate Israel the false prophet in Revelation by working together to fight the Lamb and His gospel truth. This is also the role of the harlot who fornicates with the kings of the earth. Israel in idolatry often played this part in the past, so we see nothing new presented in that.

Rev 19 shows us that the beast and the false prophet also hit the lake after the judgment came. We can see that the Roman Empire is gone and that Judaism without a temple is over as well as a way to God. But are they gone forever never to return? 1 John informs us that there are many antichrists, Peter too mentions many false prophets. So we see that the type has an ongoing presence during the Church Age. Therefore the type, now past, is still able to teach us who must suffer these things and be warned about them. Revelation is not predicting far future things to come in that sense, but instead provides the picture we are to understand as those things related to past events.

But prophecy has always been about Israel; therefore it is significant to note her reappearance on the worldly scene in 1948. She has become a major player since that time, having shown her "resurrection" power to the world in 1967. So is this a resurrected beast or the same false prophet from the 1st century? No I don't think either is the case, since I am firmly convinced Revelation does not give us this expectation. What does remain unfulfilled in Rev. is Satan's little season near the end (Rev 20:8-10).

The devil does nothing new, though his tactics may change somewhat over the years. He tried Napoleon, Hitler, Stalin and a multitude of others to gain world dominance and none of them succeeded. Should it surprise us, that near the end, he would turn again to Israel to be his mistress?

In this tiny little country in the Mideast, the devil has once again attained the world's notice and fear. Through her, he intends to bring all the nations of the world against the saints of the Lamb, in his last ditch effort to thwart the plan of God. Which we see has no success either since fire falls from heaven upon them all.

When we look at prophecy in scripture we see that it always concerns Israel. But within Israel, God always kept a remnant to Himself. Since the cross, we know that true Israel is a spiritual entity that is neither Jew nor Gentile but one people of God in Christ. Therefore, we as Christians play this role of the faithful remnant, while we can see that so-called ethnic Israel still plays the role of the apostate. Children of God and children of the devil are the only 2 peoples that God sees in the earth.

Now this one prophetic event [Little Season] that we have left before the Lord returns is given to us without much detail. Which is not too surprising since there is no one left to learn anything by it once it comes to pass. The book in which this prophecy is given does however provide the type we are to understand. The picture for that type is seen in looking to the events that occurred in the 1st century, which was yet predictive for the churches to whom this letter was written.

What was Satan's strategy in bringing persecution upon the saints? Was it not to make them fall away from the faith? The things he did to them has already happened, so we need not expect to be burned alive as candles in Nero's garden. There however has been ever since and still are today, martyrs for the faith. Wherever the ungodly rule we will find they are cruel. But we want to see what Israel's role might be and the Judaizers of the 1st century provide it for us.

What did those men try to do? Infiltrate the fellowship of the saints to get them to fall away from grace and faith and turn them back to law and themselves. What is this new nation called Israel trying to do? How about draw Christians into an erroneous Hebrew Roots movement? The Zionist's are zealous for the law and the things this apostate relishes. The Temple Institute site is full of paintings that depict Messianic scriptures and in each one is a temple shown. The Evangelicals are being sought out to support this blasphemy with their money and their praise (= worship). The dispensationalists have thus opened the door for Satan to get his foothold, and Israel is helping him do it.

The gathering of Israel back into the land IN APOSTACY, I think clearly marks for us when Satan's little season began. Should they manage to build their idol temple, may show the Lord's return is near; but they need not lay its foundation to get men to worship in it.

As long as Christendom is blind to the lesson we have been given in Revelation, many more will be led onto this broad path that leads to destruction. The same destruction we see came upon the apostates in 70 AD. The internet forums are filled with Christians who are in the process of denying the Lord that bought them in their endtimes madness.

(Luke 18:7-8 KJV) And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them? {8} I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

Christians, we need to quit encouraging this antichrist madness and fight the good fight of the faith!

Robin