"Whwn the thousand years are over , satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth. - Gog and Magog-to gather them for battle. In numbers they are like the sand of the seashore.They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God's people and the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever".
These words find their pendant in the old testament in Ezekiel 39. Some people think, that Ezekiel 39 handles about the Israelites . They say: "These people have had already so many bad experiences. But the worst things for them are still coming. I am against this opinion and believe that this is mentioned. ................. When Jesus comes back, with this glorious moment 'the thousand years' begin. And because satan cannot be active in that period , there is all the time to teach the whole worldpopulation about the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
The citizens of 'the thousand years' are: - those Christians, who had not reached the full knowledge of the fulness of God at the moment Jesus returned. They have very good times and can prosper to always more knowledge. - the whole further world-population, who now get all possibilities to learn always more about salvation.
The governors ( Isaiah 32 v 1) are those Christians, members of the congregation, who at the coming back of Jesus had reached the full wisdom and went up in the air, ( 1 Thessalonians 4 v 7).
But in these happy days there ARE people, who say in their hearts "No", in spite of all these delightful possibilities. They are not 'public, they are only 'undercover', ( Deuteronomy 33 v 29), but their heart is not with the Lord, even then.
And that is the reason, that satan is released for a short time. And all the ' no-sayers' follow him in his last desperate offensive.
But it is all in vain and all the enemies of God, man and demon , are annihilated. And when all the enemies have at last been unmasked, the earth can be pured of all last tracks of sin, ( see also Ezekiel 39).
I have the strong opinion, that we have to do here with 'God's victory at the end of time', just as the recovering of the earth, after satan had made it 'formless and empty' ( Genesis 1 v 2) was 'God's victory at the beginning of time'.
