A Fruitful Meditation, containing a plain and easy exposition, or laying open of the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th verses of the 20th Chapter of the REVELATION, in form and manner of a Sermon. (Part 1 of 3)

By His Majesty King James One of England; Six of Scotland

The Text.

7) And when the thousand years are expired, or ended, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison.

8) And shall go out to deceive the people, which are in the four quarters of the earth, even Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea.

9) And they went up to the plain of the earth, which compassed the tents of the Saints about, and the beloved City: but fire came down from God out of the heaven, and devoured them.

10) And the devil that deceived them, was cast into a lake of fire and brimstone, where that beast and that false prophet are, and shall be tormented even day and night for evermore.

THE MEDITATION.

As of all Books, the holy Scripture is most necessary for the instruction of a Christian, and of all the Scriptures, the Book of the REVELATION is most meet for this our last age, as a Prophecy of the latter times: so have I selected or chosen out this place thereof, as most proper for the action we have in hand presently. For after the Apostle JOHN had prophesied of the latter times, in the nineteenth Chapter afore going, he now in this twentieth Chapter gathered up a sum of the whole, wherein are expressed three heads or principal points.

1. First, the happy estate of the Church, from Christ’s days, to the days of the defection or falling away of the Antichrist, in the first six verses of this 20th Chapter.

2. Next, the defection of falling away itself, in this place that I have in hand, to wit, the seventh, eighth, ninth, and tenth verses.

3. Thirdly, the general punishment of the wicked in the great day of judgement, from the tenth verse until the end of the Chapter.

The Apostle his meaning in this place then is this, That after that Satan then had been bound a thousand years, which did appear by his discourse before, of the Saints triumphing in the earth, he shall at last break forth again lose, and for a space rage in the earth more than ever before: but yet shall in the end be overcome and confounded forever.

It rests now, knowing the sum, that we come to the exposition or meaning of the Verses: and first expound or lay open by way of a Paraphrase the hardness of the words, next declare the meaning of them, and thirdly note what we should learn of all.

THE FIRST PART.

As touching the words in them for order sake, we may note: First Satan his loosing: Net his doing, after he is loosed: and last his unhappy success.

Then for the first, by Satan is meant not only the Dragon, enemy of Christ and his Church, but also with him all the instruments in whom he ruleth, and by whom he ruleth, and by whom he uttereth his cruel and crafty intentions, especially the Antichrist and his Clergy, joined with the Dragon before in the 16th Chapter verse 17. and called the beast, and the false prophet. For as Christ and his Church are called after one Name, Christ, by reason of their most strait and near union, and heavenly effects flowing therefrom [1st Corinthians 12:12]. So Satan and his synagogue are here rightly called Satan, by reason of their union, and cursed effects flowing therefrom. These thousand years, are but a number certain for an uncertain, which phrase or manner of speaking, is often used by the Spirit of God in the Scriptures, meaning a great number of years.

Moreover, the prison whereout he is loosed, is the hell, which by the Spirit of God is called his prison, for two causes: One, because during the time of this world, at times appointed by God, he is debarred from walking on the earth, and sent thither, greatly to his torment, as was testified or witnessed by the miracle at Genezareth among the Gadarens, [Mathew 8:28]. Next because that after the consummation of the end of the world, he shall be perpetually or forever imprisoned therein, as is written in the same Chapter, verse 10. Finally, he is loosed by interruption of hindering, and for the most part, to the judgment of men, abolition of the overthrow of the sincere preaching of the Gospel, the true use of the Sacraments, which are seals and pledges of the promises contained therein, and lawful exercise of Christian discipline, whereby both Word and Sacraments are maintained in purity, called in the first verse the great chain, whereby the devil is bound and signified by the white horse, governed by the Lamb [Chapter 6:2}. So the meaning of all this 7th verse is this: The devil, having been bound, and his power in his instruments having been restrained for a long space, by the preaching of the Gospel, at the last he is loosed out of hell by the raising up of so many new errors and notable evil instruments, especially the Antichrist and his Clergy, who not only infect the earth anew, but rule also over the whole, through the decrease of true doctrine, and the number of the faithful following it, and the daily increase of errors, and nations following them, and believing lies hating the truth, and taking pleasure in unrighteousness, [2nd Thessalonians 2:11-12]. And thus far for Satan his loosing.

Now to the next, his doing after he is loosed. First, he goes out to seduce or beguile the nations that are into the four corners of the earth, and they become his, though in certain degrees his tyranny and travailed appears, and bursts out in some more than in others: For as all that do good, are inspired of God thereto, and do utter the same in certain degrees, according unto the measure of grace granted unto them: so all that do evil, are inspired by Satan, and do utter the same in diverse degrees, according as that unclean spirit taketh possession of them, and by diverse objects and means, allureth them to do his will, some by ambition, some by envy, some by malice, and some by fear, and so forth: and this is the first work.

Secondly, he gatherers Gog and Magog to battle, in number like the sand of the Sea, and so he and his inclined to battle and bloodshed, have mighty armies, and in number many, inflamed with cruelty. The special hearts and rulers of their armies, or rather ranks of their confederates, to go to battle and to fight, are two, here named Gog and Magog; Gog in Hebrew is called Hid, and Magog revealed, to signify that in two sorts of men chiefly Satan shall utter himself, to wit, hypocrites, and avowed or open enemies of God: It is said then that Satan shall in the latter times rule a new over the world, who shall stir up the nations under the banners of these two enemies to God, the hypocritical and open, to spread themselves in great multitudes upon the earth.

Thirdly, they shall ascend upon the plain of the earth, presumptuously and proudly, bragging of their number and force, and thinking none shall be able to resist their rage: They shall compass and besiege the camps of the Saints, and beloved City, that is, the handful of the faithful beloved of the Lord, against whom, trusting in their untellable number, like the sand of the sea, they shall make a cruel and uncessable war.

The elect are called Saints and beloved, because they are in the love of God selected and severed out, and by grace engraved in Christ, in whom they are counted and found justified, sanctified, worthy of love and endless glory: Their faithful fellowship is compared to Tents, and to a City beloved, to signify their continual warfare in the earth against Satan and sin, with all his instruments: their metal amity, and friendly conjunction in love among themselves, and joining together to maintain the good cause that their God hath cold them with: but chiefly signify the mighty and all-sufficient protection of defense in prosperity and adversity, flowing from God for their just aid against all powers that can pursue, whereby they also became fair as the Moon, pure as the Sun, terrible as an army with banners, [Cant. 1:6-9} Yea as a defended City, and iron pillar: and walls of Brass against the whole earth, [Jeremiah 1:18].

The sum then of Satan his doing after he is loosed, is this: he shall deceive the nations: he shall gather an infinite number of hypocrites and open enemies together, inflamed with cruelty, and these shall in prideful presumption fiercely bend themselves against the chosen of God, and his truth professed by them. But what at last shall the success be? Surely most unhappy: for fire shall come down from heaven and devoured them, and the devil that deceived them, and all his instruments, chiefly the Beast and False Prophet shall be cast in a lake of fire and brimstone, and shall be tormented day and night incessantly for ever and ever: that is, how greatly soever their brags be, how near soever they shall appear to be to obtain their purpose, God from heaven, as the palace and throne, wherefrom he giveth proof of the mercy towards his own, and of his justice toward his enemies, shall send plagues and destruction, as well ordinary, as extraordinary upon them: Ordinary, by revealing their wickedness by the thundering mouths of true pastors, which is oft call fire in the Scriptures: Extraordinary, by all corporal plagues to their utter destruction, and untellable torment forever in the hells. Thus far for the exposition or paraphrase of the words.