Satan's Last Venture

       So far we know the fate of two aspects of the counterfeit one-world order. The Antichrist and the False Prophet have been banished to the Lake of Fire, the place of eternal damnation. Rev. 20:7-10 fast forwards to the end of the final 1,000-year Day to tell us the fate of the third aspect—the Dragon—the power behind the Beast.
     “Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison 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” (Rev. 7-8). Despite having spent the majority of the last Day in the Pit, Satan apparently thinks he can have a rematch. Talk about egotistical pride!
         He even goes back to Magog (Turkey), the land where he hand-selected the Antichrist. He probably figures this is the best place to gather new recruits. Surprisingly, after everything the world saw during the first 3½ years of Christ’s reign and the wrath of that Day, Satan is able to raise up another army. Not only that, he commands the army to once again go up against the beloved city—Jerusalem, the centerpiece of God’s kingdom on the earth.
        This repeat performance ends almost instantly in a repeat defeat. But this one is even more spectacular and instant. A fire comes down from God out of heaven and devours the rebellious army. This time God doesn’t even require the birds of prey to devour the remains. They are incinerated on the spot.
       Not surprisingly, the master of deceit, Satan, is thrown into the lake of fire, meeting the same fiery damnation as his two beastly buddies. Can you imagine being tormented day and night forever and ever? Certainly, his fate matches the severity of his destructions as the god of this earth during this present age (2 Cor. 4:4)!
       End-Time Lesson: Why would God allow such a thing? It is because He is both loving and just. This may be hard to swallow at first, especially when we know it is God’s will for every person to be saved (1 Tim. 2:4).
         But when we see it in the context of the wrath of that Day and God’s vengeance against evil experienced through the trumpet/bowl judgments, it really becomes one last merciful chance to repent. It is one last chance to prove each person’s alliance. There’s no turning back after this; there’s no chance to change one’s mind after this cataclysmic event. The fact that Satan can lead one last rebellion confirms the hard-heartedness of the people.
         This rebellion also removes the last stumbling place in God’s end-time highway. It confirms that despite what we may have been told, Christ and His Body are not on the earth during the millennial reign. Think about this for a moment. Do we really think that after all that has been seen on the earth that Satan can still manage to deceive some of the nations to rise up against Jerusalem again if Christ and His Church are on the earth in our glorified form?
       Even born-again, committed believers like the Apostle John, cannot stand in the power of that kind of presence (Rev. 1:17). We fall over as if dead, what is commonly called being slain in the Spirit. His power is that great even with holy saints. No unholy person could bear it, especially given the innumerable  numbers of the glorified multitude.
       This is why we cannot be on the earth. The people still on the earth have to be given a choice, just as in the Garden of Eden. Salvation is a faith action. Every person must believe before they see. Otherwise, it is not faith (Heb. 11:1). We walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7).  “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed”  (Jn. 20:29).