This is the next event after the one-thousand-year reign of Christ—a great battle between Satan and Christ and His saints. We have this event recorded for us in Revelation twenty, verses seven through ten.

When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison, 8 and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore. 9 And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

The result of this battle, as you may surmise, gives us the result of the final test for man, as we have just written above—that they will not be able to save themselves apart from God’s help and the redeeming blood of Christ. But let us fill in the details as much as we can from just these four verses.

Verse 7.  This verse tells us clearly that when the thousand years are completed God will release Satan from his prison. And some may ask why. Why would God do that? The answer is obvious. It is to test, or to reveal, the character of the rebellious ones who are on the earth and to bring them to judgment.

Verse 8. Here we see that Satan immediately does what he has planned to do all along if given a chance; he does what is natural for him, to deceive. And he will deceive not just a few. This time he will go out with his demons and deceive all those in the world that are here referred to as Gog and Magog. This term is a title (used also in the Ezekiel war, Ezek. 38, 39) to refer to rebels who are enemies of God. And they are evil people that are spread out all over the earth—many of them, probably millions of them. The devil and his demons will deceive them into coming together with him to war against Christ.

Verse 9. Here we are told that they (the rebels) “came upon the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city.” Most commentators will interpret this to say that they came and spread over all the land up to the city. But I think we can be more detailed than that. The “broad plain” I think may refer to how the land around Jerusalem will be. In Zechariah 14:10 it tells us that all the land for miles around Jerusalem will be changed; it will be converted into a great plain with the city rising above the plain. This change will be part of the early millennial land renewal project, probably for the growing of gardens and crops.

Nonetheless, they will come on this broad plain, which will probably hold millions of the rebels; and then, just as they will be intending to storm the saints and up into Jerusalem where Christ reigns, God will send fire from heaven to devour them.

Verse 10. The devil, apparently not hurt by the fire, was captured alive and thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where he will meet his old friends the beast and the false prophet—having been there for a thousand years. They, all three of them, with the demons, will suffer there day and night forever and ever. We are not told anything about the millions of rebels that were fighting with Satan, but I imagine that their bodies will be incinerated by the fire and their souls will be sent to hell. Then, it will happen very soon that their bodies also will be resurrected, judged at the Great White Throne, and then cast into the lake of fire.