Revelation 20:7-15
Last update: December 15, 2007
7. Now when the
thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison
The number seven has to do with the complete and full expression of
something. Though Satan is "defeated" at the end of the sixth
Millennium, his "reappearance" at the end of the seventh Millennium is part
of a sequence of events that must unfold, one that even includes a "Shabbat rest" for
him.
(This idea of something being part of a chain of events may also be said of Yeshua's life, death and resurrection, 2,000 years ago,
which played a key role in the perfection of mankind.)
1
8. 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.
The following text describes Satan as not only the "accusing angel" but
also the one who comes to earth (as an "ox") to lead astray.
Zohar, Bemidbar 186a - The “Satan” is he who has charge
of the souls in Gehinnom, who ever craves for more and says “give, give”, more
souls to Gehinnom. Then, “The Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, Satan, and
the Lord rebuke thee....” Why two rebukes here? One for Dumah and one for him who
comes out of Gehinnom to lead astray. That higher Satan, as we have stated elsewhere, goes
down to earth in the form of an ox, and all those wicked spirits which have been condemned
to Gehinnom he licks up in one moment and hands over to Dumah after he has swallowed them
Interestingly, the name given to the "unclean spirit"
coming from (and returning to) the great abyss is, "the end of all
flesh." The Zohar states that there was once a time when the Shekinah (Holy Spirit)
ruled (at the time of the Temple) and this unclean spirit was no longer "in the world."
Further, it is the actions of man that allow this spirit to return. This
would indicate that the yetzer hara
will still be present in the Millennium and cause the final, brief return of haSatan.
Only in the Olam Haba, following the Millennium is every aspect of evil
totally eradicated.
Zohar, Shemoth 269a - THEN THE CLOUD COVERED THE TENT OF MEETING,
whereby the Shekinah dwelt on the earth, and the unclean spirit, designated “end of
all flesh”, passed out of the world and disappeared into the cavern of the great
abyss. The Holy Spirit had thus sole sway over the world, as Scripture says: “Then
the cloud covered the tent of meeting”. It is further written: AND MOSES WAS NOT ABLE
TO ENTER INTO THE TENT OF MEETING, BECAUSE THE CLOUD ABODE THEREON, in other words,
because the Holy Spirit hovered over the world and the unclean spirit passed out. The
wicked, however, draw him again into the world, and if not for them he would completely
disappear. But in the days to come the Holy One, blessed be He, will cause him to pass
completely out of the world, as Scripture says: “He will swallow up death for ever,
and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the reproach of his people
will he take away from off all the earth; for the Lord hath spoken it” (Isaiah
25:8);
also, “and (I will cause) the unclean spirit to pass out of the land” (Zechariah
13:3). Blessed be the Lord for evermore. Amen and Amen. “The Lord will reign for
ever.”
9. They went up
on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city.
And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.
Fire is associated with the world of Atzilut - that which is "from God"
(i.e., "beyond" heaven. See chart on http://www.yashanet.com/studies/judaism101/chart.htm.)
Why punishment by fire? Pride seems to be at the core as shown in this Midrash:
Midrash Rabbah, Leviticus 7:6 - R. Levi said: It is a
praiseworthy enactment that a person who behaves boastfully should be punished by fire, as
it is said, This is the law regarding a person striving to be high: it is that it goes up
on its burning-place (Leviticus 6:2).1-The generation of the Flood, because they had been
haughty, having said: What is the AImighty, that we should serve Him? (Job
21:15), were
punished by fire, as it is said, What time they were scorched, they were
exterminated-nizmathu (ib. 6:17).--R Joshua b. Levi said: [This means that] their
burning up was complete, as it is said, Completely (la-zemithuth) to the buyer (Leviticus
25:30).-It being hot, they were consumed out of their place (Job loc. cit.). ’It being
hot’ means: with boiling water. R. Johanan said: Every single drop [of rain] which
the Holy One, blessed be He, brought down on the generation of the Flood, He made to boil
in Gehinnom. This is [indicated by] what is written, ’Through His heat were they
consumed out of their place.’ The Sodomites, because they had been overbearing,
saying: ‘Let us cause the law of hospitality to be forgotten from our midst,’ as
it is said, They are forgotten of the foot that passeth by (Job 28:4), were punished
by fire, as it is said, Then the Lord caused to rain upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah
brimstone and fire, etc. (Genesis 19:24). Pharaoh the wicked, because he had behaved
boastfully, saying: Who is the Lord, that I should hearken unto His voice? (Exodus
5:2), was
punished by fire, as it is said, So there was hail, and fire flashing up amidst the hail
(ib. 9:24). Sisera, because he had been overbearing, and oppressed Israel, as it is
written, And he oppressed the children of Israel with forcefulness (Judges
4:3)-what does
’with forcefulness’ mean? Said R. Isaac: It means blasphemy and reviling-was
punished with fire [as it is said], The stars in their courses fought against Sisera (ib.
5:20). Sennacherib, because he had behaved overbearingly by saying: Who are they among
the gods of these countrtes, that have delivered their country out of my hand (Isaiah
36:20), was punished by fire, as it is written, And under his glory there shall be kindled a
burning like the burning of fire (ib. 10:16). Nebuchadnezzar, because he
had behaved insolently, by saying: And who is God, that He shall deliver
you out of my hands? (Daniel 3:15), was punished by fire, as it is said, The flame of the fire slew those men that
took up Shadrach Meshach and Abed-nego (ib. 22). The wicked State, because
it blasphemes and reviles, saying: Whom have I in heaven...? (Psalm 73:25), is to be punished with
fire, [as it said], I beheld even till the beast was slain, and its body destroyed and it
was given to be burned with fire (Daniel 7:11). Israel, however, who are despised and
lowly in this world, will be comforted by means of fire, as it is said, For I, saith the
Lord, will be unto her a wall of fire round about, and I will be the glory in the midst of
her (Zechariah 2:9).
The following Midrash speaks of this fire coming from "within" their bodies:
Midrash Rabbah, Genesis 6:6 - And the day that cometh shall set
them ablaze (Malachi 3:19). R. Jannai and R. Simeon b. Lakish said: There is no other
Gehenna [in the future] save a day which will burn up the wicked. What is the proof? For,
behold, a day cometh, it burneth as a furnace (ib.). Our Rabbis maintain: There will be a
Gehenna, for it is said, Whose fire is in Zion, and his furnace in Jerusalem (Isaiah
31:9). R. Judah b. R. Ila'i said: There will be neither a day nor a Gehenna, but a fire shall
come forth from the bodies of the wicked themselves and burn them up. What is the proof?
Ye conceive chaff, ye shall bring forth stubble, your breath is a fire that shalI devour
you (ib. 33:11).
Another reference to this destruction by fire is found in Midrash:
Midrash Rabbah, Ecclesiastes 1:11 - 11. It has been taught in the
name of R. Nathan: The globe of the sun has a sheath, as it is written, In them hath He
set a tent for the sun (Psalm 19:5), and therefore it is a lake of water. Whenever the sun
desires to come forth it flames, and the Holy One, blessed be He, weakens its force with
the water in order that it should not burn up the world. In the Hereafter, however, the
Holy One, blessed be He, will strip its sheath and uncover it and cause it to consume the
wicked; as it is said, For, behold, the day cometh, it burneth as a furnace; and all the
proud, and all that work wickedness, shall be stubble; and the day that cometh shall set
them ablaze (Malachi 3:19). R. Jannai and R. Ishmael both declared: There is no Gehinnom
in the Hereafter; but the sun will come forth and the righteous derive benefit from it.
Whence do we know this? As it is said, But unto you that fear My name shall the sun of
righteousness arise with healing in its wings (ib. 20). The wicked, on the other hand,
will be punished by it, as it is said, ' And the day that cometh shall set them ablaze
10. The devil,
who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the
false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
The interesting concept in this verse is what sounds like "eternal
punishment" (i.e., "...forever and ever.") This merits careful
interpretation as God does not act without purpose. The idea of punishment that lasts
"forever and ever" is not one of sadistic, pointless revenge. It is best
rendered as one disallowing entry into the Olam Haba, eventual annihilation, and a
"recycling" of the spiritual "energy" associated with that entity.
(Akin to the parable of Yeshua told in Matthew 25, specifically verse 28.)
The following text alludes to this idea:
Zohar, Bereshith 66b - ‘Woe to the wicked who will not
repent of their sins before the Almighty while they are still in this world. For when a
man repents of his sins and feels remorse for them, the Holy One, blessed be He, forgives
them. But those who cling to their sins and refuse to repent of them will in the end
descend to Gehinnom and never come up again. Thus because the generation of Noah were
stubborn of heart and flaunted their sins openly and defiantly, the Holy One, blessed be
He, punished them as here described.’ Said R. Isaac: ‘When a man sins in secret,
if he repents, the Holy One, blessed be He, being merciful, relents and forgives him; but
if not, He then publishes his sins before the world. We learn this from the treatment of
the faithless wife (Sotah). Similarly here, the wicked were
exterminated in sight of all. The manner of their death was as follows: scalding water
spurted up from the abyss, and as it reached them it first burnt the skin from the flesh,
and then the flesh from the bones; the bones then came asunder, no two remaining together,
and thus they were completely blotted out.’ R. Isaac said: ‘The words “they
were blotted out from the earth” is analogous to the expression “let them be
blotted out of the book of the living” (Psalm 69:29), thus indicating that they will
not participate in the resurrection and will not rise in the Day of Judgment.’
The following speak of the doing away of evil with the coming of Messiah:
Zohar, Shemoth 235b,236a - ‘The Tabernacle, in its recondite
significance, reflected the supernal mysteries comprised within the Divine Name ADNY. The
same significance is reflected by the Ark, of which it is written: “Behold, the ark
of the covenant of the Lord (ADN) of all the earth” (Joshua 3:11), the term ADN
being identical with the Divine Name ADNY. The name ADNY corresponds to the most sublime
Divine Name YHVH,, the Aleph of the one containing the same recondite meaning as the Yod
of the other, the Daleth of the one corresponding to the He of the other, and so with the
Nun and Vau, the Nun being emblematic of the male principle and the Vau of the female
principle, but the two forming a complete whole; and so, too, with the Yod of the one and
the He of the other. The several letters of the two Names, moreover, imply each other,
complement each other, and together enfold one mystery. Now, the lower and earthly
Tabernacle was the counterpart of the upper Tabernacle, whilst the latter in its turn is
the counterpart of a higher Tabernacle, the most high of all. All of them, however, are
implied within each other and form one complete whole, as it says: “that the
tabernacle may be one whole” (Exodus 26:6). The Tabernacle was erected by Moses, he
alone being allowed to raise it up, as only a husband may raise up his wife. With the
erection of the lower Tabernacle there was erected another Tabernacle on high. This is
indicated in the words “the tabernacle was reared up (hukam)” (Exodus
40:17),
reared up, that is, by the hand of no man, but as out of the supernal undisclosed mystery
in response to the mystical force indwelling in Moses that it might be perfected with him.
It is written above: “And all the wise men that wrought all the work of the sanctuary
came”, etc. (Ibid. 36:4). The “wise men that wrought” embrace the
“right”, the “left”, and all the other sides constituting the ways and
paths that lead into the sea and fill it. These wrought the supernal Tabernacle and
perfected it. Likewise, the lower Tabernacle was wrought by Bezalel and Oholiab, the one
of the right, the other of the left, followed by “every wisehearted man”, all
after the supernal pattern. On the day the Tabernacle was reared up death was removed from
the world, that is, it was deprived of its dominion over the world. For, indeed, the
entire extinction of the evil impulse will not come to pass until the coming of King
Messiah, when the Holy One, blessed be He, will rejoice in His works and “he will
swallow up death for ever” (Isaiah 25:8). Yet when the Tabernacle was reared up by
the hand of Moses the power of the evil impulse was subdued so that it could not exercise
dominion. At that time the power of Samael, the wielder of the fury of the “left
side”, was removed from the evil serpent, so that the latter was not able to dominate
the world or attach himself to man and lead him astray.’ R. Judah said: ‘It is
written: “And Moses used to take the tent and pitch it without the camp” (Exodus
33:7). The reason of this was that Moses did not wish that the “holy side”
should rest in the midst of the side of defilement.’ Said R. Eleazar: ‘So long
as the “holy side” rules, the side of defilement is powerless and bows before
it. So we have learnt that so long as Jerusalem is in its fulness wicked, Tyre remains
devastated.’ [Tr. note: Babylonian Talmud, Pesahim 42b.]
Zohar, Shemoth 240b - Of the time that God will restore His House
it is written: “He will swallow up death for ever” (Ibid. 25:8); it will not
be as at the time when Moses reared up the Tabernacle, but for ever and for all
generations. The Holy One, blessed be He, will then establish the Community of Israel,
will raise up the pillars and the pins, and all the beams of the Sanctuary in their proper
setting to endure for evermore. The “other side” will be swallowed up for ever.
A more recent study explains that even the "snake" will be recycled into
something beautiful - the breastplate of the High Priest:
As soon as the kingdom of the Mashiach will be established, the
remarkable feature will be that his former enemies will make peace with
him, i.e. the kelipa will then be purified, and all the Gentile nations
will acknowledge the truth. That is the day when G-d and His name will
be One. Even the erstwhile "Nachash" [the proverbial "Snake"] will be
turned into "Choshen" [breastplate of the High Priest, spelled with the
same letters as "Nachash"]. 2
11. Then I saw a
great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled
away. And there was found no place for them.
12. And I saw
the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book
was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their
works, by the things which were written in the books.
The mention of the white throne is an allusion to Yom Kippur, the time of judgment.
There are three books ("bad," "good" and "intermediate") mentioned in Jewish
writings as shown in this Talmudic passage. Inevitably, at Yom Kippur
everyone ends up in either the "good" or "bad" book:
Talmud, Rosh HaShana 16b - Three books are opened [in
heaven] on New Year, one for the thoroughly wicked, one for the thoroughly righteous, and
one for the intermediate. The thoroughly righteous are forthwith inscribed definitively in
the book of life; the thoroughly wicked are forthwith inscribed definitively in the book
of death; the doom of the intermediate is suspended from New Year till the Day of
Atonement; if they deserve well, they are inscribed in the book of life; if they do not
deserve well, they are inscribed in the book of death.
Repentance allows for even the wicked to change their outcome:
Zohar, Shemoth Raya Mehemna 43a - AND EVERY FIRSTLING OF AN ASS
THOU SHALT REDEEM WITH A LAMB, AND IF THOU WILT NOT REDEEM IT... THOU SHALT BREAK HIS
NECK. The ass and the lamb symbolize the evil and the good inclinations. The very evil can
be turned into good by repentance: the “ass” must be redeemed by a
“lamb”. In other words, even if a man is an “ass”, a spiritual
ignoramus, he can be redeemed from the exile of darkness and be included in the redemption
of Israel, “the scattered sheep” (Jeremiah 50:17). But if he does not repent,
“thou shalt break his neck”, meaning, he belongs to the stiffnecked ones who
will be blotted out from the Book of Life, for concerning such unrepentant sinners it is
written: “Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book” (Exodus
32:33).
13. The sea gave
up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them.
And they were judged, each one according to his works.
"Hades" is not a term typically found in Hebraic spiritual writings. It would
seem to have a connection to the abode of souls who await the resurrection (associated
with the idea of "Abraham's bosom"):
Zohar, Bereshith 175b,176a - R. Judah discoursed on the verse:
For the ways of the Lord are right, and the just do walk in them; but transgressors
stumble therein (Hosea 14:10). ‘All the ways of God’, he said, ‘are right
and true, but mankind know not and regard not what it is that keeps them alive. Hence
“the just do walk in them”, because they know the ways of God, and they devote
themselves to the Torah; for whoever devotes himself to the Torah knows those ways and
follows them without turning either to the right or the left. “But transgressors do
stumble therein”, to wit, the sinners, since they labour not in the Torah nor regard
the ways of the Almighty, and know not in which way they are walking. And since they are
thoughtless and do not study the Torah, they stumble in their ways in this world and in
the world to come. Now the soul of one who has laboured in the study of the Torah, when it
leaves this world, ascends by the ways and paths of the Torah-ways and paths familiar to
them. They who know the ways and paths of the Torah in this world follow them in the other
world when they leave this world. But those who do not study the Torah in this world and
know not its ways and paths, when they leave this world know not how to follow those ways
and paths, and hence stumble therein. They thus follow other ways which are not the ways
of the Torah, and are visited with many chastisements. Of him who devotes himself to the
Torah, on the other hand, it is written: “When thou liest down, it shall watch over
thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee” (Proverbs 6:22). When thou liest
down”, to wit, in the grave, the Torah shall watch over thee against the judgement of
the other world; “and when thou awakest”, that is, when the Holy One, blessed be
He, will awake the spirits and souls so as to bring the dead to life again, it shall talk
with thee, the Torah will speak in defence of the body, so that those bodies which
laboured to keep the Torah as required will rise up. These it is who will be the first to
rise up, and of whom it is written: “And many of them that sleep in the dust of the
earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, etc.” (Daniel 12:2), for the reason that
they occupied themselves with everlasting life, which is the Torah. Further, all the
bodies of those who have devoted themselves to the Torah will be preserved, and the Torah
will protect them, inasmuch as at that time the Holy One, blessed be He, will raise up a
wind from all four quarters of the world, a wind specially prepared to bring to life all
those who have laboured in the Torah so that they should live for ever. It may be asked
here, what of the dead who were revived by the prophet's invocation, “Come from the
four winds, O breath” (Ezekiel 37:9), and who yet did not survive, but died a second
time? The answer is that at that time, although the wind was compounded of all four winds,
it did not come down to give them permanent life, but only to demonstrate the mode in
which God will one day bring the dead to life, namely, by a wind formed in this fashion.
So that although those who were then resurrected turned again into bones, since their
resurrection was only meant as a proof to the world that God will one day raise the dead
to life, we may still believe that at the proper time the righteous will be resurrected
for an everlasting life. For the Torah itself will stand by each one of those who have
occupied themselves in the study of the Torah, recounting his merits before the
Almighty.’ R. Simeon said: ‘All the words of the Torah, and all the doctrine of
the Torah to which a man devotes his mind in this world, are ever before the Almighty, and
at that time the Torah will recount how the man devoted himself to the Torah in this
world, and thereat such men will all rise for everlasting life, as we said already.’
Thus, “the ways of the Lord are right, and the just do walk in them; but
transgressors do stumble therein.”
14. Then Death
and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
There are many references in the writings of the sages regarding death being swallowed up at this
time:
Midrash Rabbah, Deuteronomy 2:30 - God said: ' In this world,
because the Evil Inclination is present, men kill one another and die, but in the time to
come I will uproot the Evil Inclination from your midst and there will be no death in the
world,’ [as Scripture says], He will swallow up death for ever (Isaiah
25:8).
Again, "hades" may be a term used for a Hebrew concept, possible
"Sheol" as shown here:
Midrash Rabbah, Genesis 26:2 - And the upright shall have
dominion over them in the morning, and their form shall be for the wearing away of the
nether-world on account of His habitation (ib.)3: this teaches that Sheol [the
nether-world] will be destroyed.
15. And anyone
not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
Midrash Rabbah, Ecclesiastes 3:23 - ‘What, then, is the
meaning of the text, AND THE SPIRIT OF THE BEAST WHETHER IT GOETH DOWNWARD TO THE
EARTH?’ He replied, ' It refers to the souls of the wicked which descend to Gehinnom
below, as it is stated, In the day when he went down to the netherworld I caused the deep
to mourn and cover itself for him’ (Ezekiel 31:15).
A person's relationship with Torah in their life impacts what happens to
them upon death, as expressed so eloquently in this portion of the Zohar:
Zohar, Bereshith 184b,185a - AND THEY TOOK HIM AND CAST HIM INTO
THE PIT . R. Judah here discoursed on the text: The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring
the soul (Psalm 19:8). ‘The study of the Torah’, he said, ‘procures for a
man life in this world and in the world to come, so that he gains the two worlds; and even
he that studies the Torah for worldly motives and not purely for its own sake as he ought
to, gains a good reward in this world, and escapes punishment in the other. The Scripture
says: “Length of days is in her right hand; in her left hand are riches and honour” (Proverbs
3:6). There is, indeed, length of days for him who devotes himself
to the Torah for its own sake. For such a one there is length of days in the other world,
where days are indeed days. And further: “in her left hand are riches and honour”, which means good reward in this world. Moreover, if a man has devoted
himself to the Torah for its own sake, when he departs this world the Torah goes before
him and proclaims his merit, and shields him against the emissaries of punishment. When a
man's body is laid in the grave, the Torah keeps guard over it; it goes in front of his
soul when it soars upwards, breaking through all barriers until the soul reaches its
proper place; and it will stand by the man at the time when he is awakened at the
resurrection of the dead, in order to defend him against any accusations. Thus Scripture
further says: “When thou liest down, it shall watch over thee; and when thou awakest,
it shall talk with thee” (Ibid. 4:22). The “Iying down” is an allusion to
the time when man's body is lying in the grave and is being judged there; the Torah will
then protect him; whilst “when thou awakest”, that is, when the dead will rise
from the dust, “it shall talk with thee”, that is, plead thy cause.’ R.
Eleazar interpreted the clause “it shall talk with thee” to mean that when they
rise from the grave the Torah will not be forgotten of them, but they will know it much as
they did when they left this world. For their Torah will be preserved from that time, will
penetrate within them, and will talk, as it were, within their very inwards; and moreover,
they will be more adept than they were previously, so that points which formerly baffled
them in spite of all their labour will now be fully comprehended by them, the Torah itself
speaking within them. Hence: “when thou awakest, it will talk with thee”.’
R. Judah said: ‘In a similar way, whoever devotes himself to the study of the Torah
in this world will be privileged to study in the world to come; and so we affirm. On the
other hand, the man who fails to study the Torah in this world, and so walks in darkness,
when he leaves this world is taken and cast into Gehinnom, a nethermost place, where there
will be none to pity him, a place called “tumultuous pit, miry clay” (Psalm
40:3). Hence, of him who has not devoted himself to the study of the Torah in this world, but
has besmirched himself with the offscourings of this world, it is written: “And they
took him and cast him into the pit”, that is, into Gehinnom, a place where those who
have not laboured in the Torah are brought to judgement. “And the pit was
empty”, in the same way as he was empty: why so? “Because there was no
water” (i.e. Torah) in him. Observe, too, how great is the punishment for neglect of
the study of the Torah, seeing that Israel were not exiled from the Holy Land save for
having abandoned the Torah, as it is written: “Who is the wise man that may
understand this?... Wherefore is the land perished?... And the Lord saith: Because they
have forsaken my law, etc.” (Jeremiah 9:11).’ R. Judah derived the same lesson
from the verse: “Therefore my people are gone into captivity, for want of
knowledge” (Isaiah 5:13), that is, because they have not applied themselves to the
study of the Torah, which is the foundation of the upper and the lower worlds, as it says:
“Were it not for my covenant enduring day and night, I would not have appointed the
ordinances of heaven and earth” (Jeremiah 33:25).
1. For more on this
concept, see Derech Hashem,
Feldheim Publishers, Jerusalem, 1997, pp. 121-125.
2. From
http://www.kabbalaonline.org/WeeklyTorah/MysticalClassics/King_with_a_Purpose.asp
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