Armageddon Ahead—But the 1,000-Year Reign Is Already On

1. How Satan Deceived the Nations
2. How the Nations Won’t Be Deceived
3. What Did God Do?
4. Taking the Nations of the State of Darkness/ When Satan lost his power.
5. The battle in Revelation
6. End Times
7. The Army That’s Gathering Against Christ
8. Revelation 20
9. The Hidden Gospel
10. How Can We Be in the Millennial Reign Now?
    1. What that means for us

Genesis 3 : 1-5 (KJV)
1 “Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?”
 • The serpent = Satan, already scheming.

2 “And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:”
3 “But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.”
 • Eve knows the rule, repeats it back.

4 “And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die:”
5 “For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”
 • Satan disguises himself as an “angel of light,” speaks smoothly, and sells the lie.
 • Eve can’t resist the charm; she takes the bait and sin enters the world (see v. 13 for God’s verdict).

Why start here?
Everything about Armageddon and the Millennial Reign traces back to this moment. Genesis sets the stage: deception, rebellion, and the long rescue plan that ends with Christ ruling and evil finally crushed.

Genesis 3:13-14 KJV
13 “And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat.”
• Satan’s main weapon is deception; in his full glory Eve never stood a chance.

14 “And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.”
• “Upon thy belly” is metaphor, not zoology—God is stripping Satan of rank. Falling to the belly = loss of power/authority (see Ps 44:25; Lam 2:1 for the same idiom applied to Israel).

• Satan isn’t wiped out, just demoted; he keeps enough power to spread deception to the nations once sin enters the world.

How Satan Deceived the Nations

Psalm 96:5 KJV
“For all the gods of the nations are idols: but the LORD made the heavens.”
• Satan’s first play: steer every nation toward fake gods—idolatry keeps them blind to the one true Creator.

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Deuteronomy 12:29-30 KJV
29 “When the LORD thy God shall cut off the nations from before thee, whither thou goest to possess them…
30 take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them… saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise.”
• The Most High warned Israel: “Don’t copy the nations’ idols.”
• Those idols were Satan’s bait—he convinced entire cultures to trade truth for images.

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How the devil’s deception feeds Armageddon

1. Shift worship. By luring humanity into idol-culture, Satan fractures the Body of Christ before it’s even formed.
2. Build an army. Idol-serving nations become his recruiting ground for the final showdown.
3. Goal: gather those deceived masses to fight Jesus at the climactic Battle of Armageddon.

Bottom line: the idol push isn’t random; it’s Satan’s long game to stack the battlefield against Christ—and it all traces back to that first lie in Eden.

How the Nations Won’t Be Deceived

Deuteronomy 4:5-6 KJV
5 “Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the LORD my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it.”
 • The Most High picked Israel to shine as a light in a world swallowed by idolatry. He handed them His laws to stand out from the nations.

6 “Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.”
 • Israel’s obedience was meant to be a living billboard: “Here’s what real wisdom looks like.”
 • Plan A: the nations would spot that difference, drop their idols, and follow the true God.
 • Reality check: Israel flopped, the nations stuck with false gods, and Satan kept them locked in deception—turning many against both God and Israel.

Numbers 22:3-6 KJV
3 “And Moab was sore afraid of the people, because they were many: and Moab was distressed because of the children of Israel.”
 • Israel’s numbers explode—Moab panics.

4 “And Moab said unto the elders of Midian, Now shall this company lick up all that are round about us, as the ox licketh up the grass of the field. And Balak the son of Zippor was king of the Moabites at that time.”
 • King Balak pictures Israel mowing through the region like an ox devouring grass.

5 “He sent messengers therefore unto Balaam … saying, Behold, there is a people come out from Egypt … they cover the face of the earth, and they abide over against me:”
6 “Come now therefore, I pray thee, curse me this people; for they are too mighty for me … for I know that he whom thou blessest is blessed, and he whom thou cursest is cursed.”
 • Balak hires Balaam to put a spiritual hit-job on Israel—“Curse them so I can wipe them out.”
 • Satan is behind the strategy: eliminate Israel, derail the line that will produce Christ, and stop the plan that turns Israel into the Body of Christ.
 • Bottom line: the long-running “hate Israel” campaign traces back to the enemy’s fear that the Messiah would rise from that nation.

Esther 3:6 KJV
“And he (Haman) thought scorn to lay hands on Mordecai alone; … wherefore Haman sought to destroy all the Jews that were throughout the whole kingdom of Ahasuerus.”
• Haman’s “wipe-out Israel” plan echoes Satan’s long game—erase the people meant to bring Christ into the world.

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Psalm 83:1-8 KJV
1 “Keep not Thou silence, O God….”
2 “Thine enemies make a tumult….”
3 “They have taken crafty counsel against Thy people….”
4 “Come, let us cut them off from being a nation; that the name of Israel be no more in remembrance.”
5 “For they have consulted together with one consent….”

6 Who’s in the plot? “Edom, Ishmaelites, Moab, Hagarenes,”
7 “Gebal, Ammon, Amalek, Philistines, Tyre,”
8 “Assur also is joined with them….”

• Same satanic strategy: a confederation of nations tries to delete Israel from history.
• Goal ⇢ cripple God’s redemption plan and keep the Body of Christ from ever forming.

What Did God Do?

Luke 2:27-32 KJV

27 “And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law,”
28 “Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, …”
29 “Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word:”
30 “For mine eyes have seen Thy salvation,”
31 “Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people;”
32 “A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of Thy people Israel.”

• The nations were stuck in idolatry, stumbling in the dark. The Most High’s answer: send Jesus as visible salvation.

• Simeon—guided by the Spirit—recognizes this newborn isn’t just for Israel; He’s “prepared before the face of all people.”

• Verse 32 nails it: Jesus is “a light for the Gentiles” (worldwide outreach) and “the glory of Israel” (fulfilling Israel’s original mandate from Deuteronomy to guide the nations).

• Where Israel failed to shine, Christ steps in and pulls every nation out of darkness into God’s family.

Taking the Nations of the State of Darkness/ When Satan lost his power.

Ephesians 2:12-15 KJV

12 “That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:”
• Paul’s talking to Gentiles—Israel couldn’t be “strangers” to its own covenant. Non-Israelites had zero covenant access or hope before Christ.

13 “But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.”
• Christ’s sacrifice pulls those “far off” Gentiles right up to the same covenant table.

14 “For He is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;”
• A literal divider in the Temple kept Gentiles out; symbolically, the Law’s boundary markers did the same. Christ tears that barrier down and unites Jew and Gentile into one family.

15 “Having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in Himself of twain one new man, so making peace;”
• By perfectly fulfilling the Law, Jesus removes it as a wall of hostility. Two groups become “one new man” in Him—peace established, no more Jew-Gentile beef.

Ephesians 2:16–20 KJV

16 “And that He might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:”
• The cross erases the feud—Jew + Gentile become one body.

17 “And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.”
• Jesus announced the same peace to outsiders (Gentiles) and insiders (Israelites).

18 “For through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.”
• One Spirit, one doorway—no second-class believers.

19 “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;”
• The Most High sees former idol-worshipers as full family, not houseguests.

20 “And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief Cornerstone;”
• We’ve moved past Moses as the centerpiece—Christ is the Cornerstone holding Jew and Gentile together.
• His death-and-resurrection clipped Satan’s wings: before the cross the devil used full power to blind nations; after the cross his influence is restrained, and the Holy Spirit seals believers against his deceptions.

Colossians 2:13-15 KJV

13 “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath God quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses;”
• We were spiritually dead—stack of sins, no covenant access—until God made us alive with Christ and wiped the slate clean.

14 “Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His cross;”
• Satan used the Law’s “record of debt” to accuse: “Look, they broke every rule.”
• Jesus cancels that nails it to the cross

15 “And having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.”
• Principalities & powers = Satan and his demon ranks.
• At the resurrection Christ paraded them in defeat—public proof they lost their authority.
• Now sin can’t chain believers, and the law can’t condemn those who trust the One who paid the full price.

John 12:30 (KJV) Jesus answered and said, This voice came not because of me, but for your sakes.
Joh 12:31 (KJV) Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out.
● Satan is the prince of this world.
● The resurrection is the process by which Satan begins to lose his power.

The battle in Revelation

Revelation 12:7-9 KJV
7 “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,”
• Classic showdown scene—Michael leading heaven’s host against Satan (“the dragon”) and his crew.

8 “And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.”
• The dragon loses—permanently evicted from the heavenly realm.

9 “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.”
• Same “serpent” from Genesis 3.
• This isn’t describing some ancient, completed event; jump back to v. 5-6 and you’ll see the timeline points forward—Satan still has access now (see Job 1; Eph 6), but during this future conflict he’s barred for good.
• Bottom line: a real heavenly battle is coming, Satan loses hard, and his last playground becomes earth—setting the stage for Armageddon.

Revelation 12:10 KJV
“And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.”

• Remember—Revelation jumps around in time, so you have to track the scene, not read it like a straight timeline.
• This verse celebrates the moment Satan (the “accuser”) finally loses his heavenly access.
• With the dragon cast down, the gospel light reaches the nations: salvation, power, and Christ’s kingdom go public.
• Jesus promised, “If I be lifted up, I’ll draw all people” (John 12:32). Once that light hits, many from every nation turn to the Most High and believe in Him.
• Satan still works influence where he can, but his courtroom role—standing before God and accusing believers day and night—is finished.

End Times

Revelation 16:12-16 KJV

12 “And the sixth angel poured out his vial upon the great river Euphrates; and the water thereof was dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.”

13 “And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs come out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet.”
14 “For they are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty.”

Three frog-like spirits = lies straight from Satan (dragon), the beast, and the false prophet. Fake wonders hype the nations, convincing world leaders they can take on Christ.

15 “Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame.”
16 “And he gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon.”

Jesus warns believers to stay alert and keep their spiritual “garments” clean; He’ll show up like a thief, catching the unprepared exposed.

• v 16 — The deception works: all those pumped-up armies converge at Armageddon, thinking they can defeat the King—exactly the showdown Satan’s been engineering all along.

The Army That’s Gathering Against Christ

Rev 19:17 (KJV) And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all
the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the
great God; Rev 19:18 (KJV) That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the
flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men,
both free and bond, both small and great. Rev 19:19 (KJV) And I saw the beast, and the kings of the
earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and
against his army.
● What battle of this? Armageddon, the same one in chapter 16.
○ Satan is behind it. The battle is introduced in 16, some details here in 19, the rest rest
starts in vs 20.

● The kings of the earth is gathered to fight against Christ and his angels.

Rev 19:20 (KJV) And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles
before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that
worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. Rev
19:21 (KJV) And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword
proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
● The kings of the earth and the remnant was slain during the Battle of Armageddon
● Remnant: the rest of the people who were slain w/the sword. All the wicked are now dead,
there will be no wicked people in the Kingdom.
● People struggle with Revelation 19:20 but the next passage is why.

Revelation 20

Rev 20:1 (KJV) And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit
and a great chain in his hand. Rev 20:2 (KJV) And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent,
which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

● Chain: symbolic of Satan not being free to do what he wants to do; not a literal chain.
○ There is no actual chain that can hold Satan.
○ He will lose the level of power that he once had.
○ Result of Jesus resurrection b/c it led to the other nations coming to the light
of Christ. It weakened Satan’s kingdom.
○ Satan is being bound means he is restricted or limited from operating like he used to, he is bound right now.

Revelation 20:3 KJV
“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.”

• Satan’s “bottomless pit” = a season of hard restriction—his power to deceive is chained.
• The seal means limits: he can still stir trouble, but only within God’s set boundaries.
• The “thousand years” isn’t a stopwatch; Revelation often uses big numbers symbolically. It pictures a long gospel age where Christ’s victory keeps Satan from blinding the nations the way he used to.
• After that era, Satan gets a short parole (“loosed a little season”)—not to wreck paradise after a perfect 1,000-year utopia, but to stage one last rebellion before final judgment.
• Remember: Revelation isn’t laid out in strict timeline order. Chapter 20 retells the same end-game as chapter 19 from a different angle (recapitulation). John records the visions as they hit him; the Spirit arranges the big picture.

2 Timothy 3:1-5 KJV
1 “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.
2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers…
3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers…
4 Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof…”

• Paul tags the end-times with a spike in open, ugly sin—exactly what happens when Satan’s “little season” of freedom (Rev 20:3) kicks in.
• The flood of selfishness, cruelty, and fake spirituality is Satan’s last-ditch deception run before final judgment.

Luke 21:24 KJV
“Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.”

• Right now we’re in that “times of the Gentiles” window—God’s gospel light is racing through the nations while Israel (as a whole) remains blind.
• When that Gentile era wraps, Satan’s short release + Armageddon showdown follows, and Christ ends the story once for all.

Romans 11:25 (KJV)

25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

Revelation 20:4 KJV
“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.”
• John is looking at the result of Armageddon: the faithful who resisted the beast now sit on thrones.
• “A thousand years” = the long Gospel age that follows Christ’s victory, not a future calendar millennium.

Revelation 20:5 KJV
“But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.”
• “Rest of the dead” = everyone not in verse 4—those who died as Christ returned (the unbelieving, beast-aligned crowd).
• They stay asleep through the entire “thousand-year” era and only rise for the Great White Throne judgment after the reign concludes—where they face final condemnation.

Revelation 20:6 KJV
“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.”
• First-resurrection believers (v. 4) are safe—second-death (lake of fire) can’t touch them.
• “Priests… reign” = their role during the long gospel age symbolized by the “thousand years.”

Revelation 20:7 KJV
“And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,”
• Looks like: Christ rules → 1 000 yrs → Satan freed—but remember, Rev 20 is replaying the Armageddon story from a new angle, not adding a sequel.
• Loosing = the brief, end-times surge of deception (2 Tim 3’s “last-days” wickedness).

Revelation 20:8 KJV
“And shall go out to deceive the nations … Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.”
• Same move we saw in Rev 16 & 19: Satan stirs every nation (picture-name “Gog & Magog”) to march against Christ.

Revelation 20:9 KJV
“And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints … and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.”
• Same outcome as chapter 19—enemy armies surround God’s people, God’s fire ends it instantly.
• Proof this is recap, not a second, later war: the nations already got wiped in 16/19, so 20 retells the clash and adds the behind-the-scenes detail about Satan’s short release.

The Mystery—Why It All Traces Back to Genesis

When the serpent first deceived Eve, Satan unleashed his power to blind the nations and build an army for a future showdown. Fast-forward to the cross: Jesus’ death and resurrection slammed a chain on that power. That is the “binding of Satan” Revelation 20 talks about, and it’s been in effect ever since.

• We’re in the Millennial Reign right now.
  Christ reigns from heaven; His people reign with Him (first resurrection = born-again believers).
• Satan is bound right now.
  The gospel races across the globe, limiting how far his deception can go. Every revival, every convert “short-circuits” his old playbook.
• The 1 000 years isn’t a stopwatch; it’s the “Times of the Gentiles.”
  One long gospel age where nations are invited in while Satan’s reach is curtailed (Luke 21:24).
• Chains loosening toward the end.
  As the age closes, the restraint lifts bit by bit—lawlessness spikes (2 Tim 3), unclean spirits rally leaders (Rev 16), and Satan convinces the world they can beat Christ.
• Armageddon is still future.
  The war hasn’t happened yet; chapter 20 is a recap of chapter 19 from a different camera angle. When those chains fully drop, the nations will march—only to be obliterated in the final fire.

The Hidden Gospel

2 Corinthians 4:3-4 KJV
3 “But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost:
4 In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.”

• “The god of this world” = Satan. His main move is mental blinders—deception that keeps people from seeing Jesus.
• Calvary changed the game: when Christ died and rose, He yanked that blinding power out of Satan’s hands. That’s why Gentile nations started waking up and believing.
• If Satan still had full access, nobody would turn to the gospel; the fact people keep coming to faith proves he’s still on the chain Christ locked him in.

How Can We Be in the Millennial Reign Now?

Mark 1:14-15 KJV
14 “Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
15 and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.’”
• The kingdom isn’t a far-off age—Jesus said it was “at hand” the moment He showed up.

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Luke 17:20-21 KJV
20 “The Pharisees asked when the kingdom of God should come. He answered, ‘The kingdom of God cometh not with observation;
21 neither shall they say, “Lo here!” or “Lo there!” for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”
• Kingdom = spiritual reality right now.
• It’s internal—Christ ruling believers’ hearts long before He rules the planet openly.

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What that means for us

• Already reigning: If you trust Christ, sin no longer calls the shots; you rule with Him in spirit (Eph 2:6).
• Satan’s limits: The devil still prowls, but he can’t dominate believers whose minds are renewed.
• “Time of the Gentiles”: While the gospel spreads worldwide, Christ’s kingdom operates invisibly. When that era closes, the physical reign appears with His return.
• Spiritual → physical: Everything manifests in the Spirit first, then in the flesh—so we’re living kingdom life now, waiting for the visible phase.

Bottom line: Don’t read Revelation like a straight timeline. Piece the visions together—see the ongoing spiritual reign, the coming Armageddon standoff, and the final reveal of the kingdom that’s already alive inside every believer.