`And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

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 loosed a little season. And I saw

thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment 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 his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with

Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is

the first resurrection. 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. And when

the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 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. 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. 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' (Rev. 20:1-10).

Three features stand out in this record :

1. The Restraint of Satan.

2. The Reign of the overcomer.

3. The Rebellion at the close.

Here are three R's that are fundamental and ignored at our peril. Satan is only loosed for `a little season' yet the

response to his deception is immediate: `they went up'. The objection, that this is beyond the Millennium, is invalid.

What takes place in 1958 is intimately connected with what was done and thought in 1957. The nations who are

thus deceived are differentiated from the people of Israel. The nations are called Gog and Magog, and inhabit the

four quarters or corners of the earth, whereas Israel, we must assume, occupy the beloved city and form the camp of

the saints (Rev. 20:9). The antichristian character of this rebellion in spite of the intervening thousand years, is

indicated by the titles Gog and Magog. The writer of the Apocalypse assumes acquaintance with Ezekiel.

`Son of Man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy

against him' (Ezek. 38:2).

In association with Gog and Magog, are Persia, Ethiopia, Libya, Gomer and all his bands, the house of Togarmah of

the north quarters and all his bands; and many people with thee (Ezek. 38:5,6). This invasion by these hordes will

be met by the Lord Himself.

`I will turn thee back, and put hooks into thy jaws' (Ezek. 38:4).

`It shall come to pass at the same time when Gog shall come against the land of Israel, saith the Lord GOD, that

My fury shall come up in My face' (Ezek. 38:18).

`Thou shalt fall upon the mountains of Israel, thou, and all thy bands, and the people that is with thee: I will give

thee unto the ravenous birds of every sort, and to the beasts of the field to be devoured ... And I will send a fire

on Magog' (Ezek. 39:4-6).

`I will give unto Gog a place there of graves in Israel ... And seven months shall the house of Israel be burying of

them' (Ezek. 39:11,12).

`Speak unto every feathered fowl, and to every beast of the field, Assemble yourselves, and come ... Ye shall eat

the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes' (Ezek. 39:17,18).

The parallel of this passage with Revelation 19:17-21 is INESCAPABLE. There again we have the call to the fowls

to eat the flesh of captains and kings. Here the warring hosts are gathered by the Beast who is cast into the lake of