Revelation — Chapter 20

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1Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the Abyss, holding in his hand a great chain.

2He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.

3And he threw him into the Abyss, shut it, and sealed it over him, so that he could not deceive the nations until the thousand years were complete. After that, he must be released for a brief period of time.

4Then I saw the thrones, and those seated on them had been given authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or hands. And they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

5The rest of the dead did not come back to life until the thousand years were complete. This is the first resurrection.

6Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection! The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.

7When the thousand years are complete, Satan will be released from his prison,

8and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—to assemble them for battle. Their number is like the sand of the seashore.

9And they marched across the broad expanse of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. But fire came down from heaven and consumed them.

10And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, into which the beast and the false prophet had already been thrown. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

11Then I saw a great white throne and the One seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from His presence, and no place was found for them.

12And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And books were opened, and one of them was the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their deeds, as recorded in the books.

13The sea gave up its dead, and Death and Hades gave up their dead, and each one was judged according to his deeds.

14Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire.

15And if anyone was found whose name was not written in the Book of Life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

1And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

2And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

3And 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.

4And 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.

5But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

6Blessed 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.

7And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,

8And 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.

9And 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.

10And 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.

11And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

12And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

13And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

14And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.

15And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

1And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.

2And he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years,

3and cast him into the abyss, and shut [it], and sealed [it] over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years should be finished: after this he must be loosed for a little time.

4And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and [I saw] the souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as worshipped not the beast, neither his image, and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

5The rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years should be finished. This is the first resurrection.

6Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: over these the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

7And when the thousand years are finished, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,

8and shall come forth to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to the war: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

9And they went up over the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down out of heaven, and devoured them.

10And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where are also the beast and the false prophet; and they shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

11And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

12And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne; and books were opened: and another book was opened, which is [the book] of life: and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works.

13And the sea gave up the dead that were in it; and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.

14And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, [even] the lake of fire.

15And if any was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire.

1Then I saw an angel descending from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the abyss and a huge chain.

2He seized the dragon—the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan—and tied him up for a thousand years.

3The angel then threw him into the abyss and locked and sealed it so that he could not deceive the nations until the one thousand years were finished. (After these things he must be released for a brief period of time.)

4Then I saw thrones and seated on them were those who had been given authority to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. These had not worshiped the beast or his image and had refused to receive his mark on their forehead or hand. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

5(The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were finished.) This is the first resurrection.

6Blessed and holy is the one who takes part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.

7Now when the thousand years are finished, Satan will be released from his prison

8and will go out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to bring them together for the battle. They are as numerous as the grains of sand in the sea.

9They went up on the broad plain of the earth and encircled the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and devoured them completely.

10And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are too, and they will be tormented there day and night forever and ever.

11Then I saw a large white throne and the one who was seated on it; the earth and the heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them.

12And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. Then books were opened, and another book was opened—the book of life. So the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds.

13The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each one was judged according to his deeds.

14Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire.

15If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, that person was thrown into the lake of fire.

1I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.

2He seized the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole inhabited earth, and bound him for a thousand years,

3and cast him into the abyss, and shut it, and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years were finished. After this, he must be freed for a short time.

4I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as didn’t worship the beast nor his image, and didn’t receive the mark on their forehead and on their hand. They lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

5The rest of the dead didn’t live until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.

6Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over these, the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with him one thousand years.

7And after the thousand years, Satan will be released from his prison,

8and he will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to the war; the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

9They went up over the width of the earth, and surrounded the camp of the saints, and the beloved city. Fire came down out of heaven from God and devoured them.

10The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are also. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

11I saw a great white throne, and him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. There was found no place for them.

12I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and they opened books. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works.

13The sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them. They were judged, each one according to his works.

14Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

15If anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire.

Summary
Authorship & Background
Commentary
Videos
Articles
Reflection

Summary

An angel descends with the key to the abyss and binds Satan for a thousand years, sealing him away so he cannot deceive the nations (vv. 1-3). Those who had been beheaded for their testimony to Jesus and had refused the mark of the beast come to life and reign with Christ for the thousand years in what is called the first resurrection, while the rest of the dead do not come to life until the thousand years end (vv. 4-6). When the thousand years are over, Satan is released and goes out to deceive the nations one final time, gathering them for battle against God's people, only to be destroyed by fire from heaven and thrown into the lake of fire, where he is tormented forever (vv. 7-10). John then sees the dead, great and small, standing before a great white throne, judged according to what is written in the books, including the book of life (vv. 11-13). Death and Hades are thrown into the lake of fire, and anyone whose name is not found in the book of life is thrown into it as well (vv. 14-15).

Authorship & Background

Author: The Apostle John (see Chapter 1 notes for full details).
Historical Context: Chapter 20 covers three major eschatological events: the millennium (Christ's 1,000-year reign, vv.1-6), Satan's final rebellion and defeat (vv.7-10), and the Great White Throne judgment (vv.11-15). This chapter is one of the most debated in Scripture — the interpretation of the "thousand years" divides Christians into premillennialists (Christ returns before the millennium), amillennialists (the millennium is symbolic of the present age), and postmillennialists (Christ returns after the millennium).
Classification: Apocalyptic Prophecy — The Millennium and Final Judgment
Key Themes: Satan bound with a chain and cast into the abyss for a thousand years specifically so he cannot deceive the nations during that time, martyrs who refused the beast's mark resurrected to reign with Christ in what the text itself calls the first resurrection, a brief release at the end of the thousand years that Satan uses immediately to deceive nations and gather them for one final battle, fire from heaven ending that battle before it properly starts, and a great white throne before which earth and heaven themselves flee away, books opened alongside one particular book whose absence, rather than any recorded deed, decides the final sentence
Satan Bound (vv.1-3): An angel binds Satan with a chain and casts him into the abyss for 1,000 years (vv.1-2). He cannot deceive the nations during this period (v.3). After the 1,000 years, he is released briefly (v.3).
The Millennium (vv.4-6): Thrones of judgment (v.4). Martyrs who refused the beast's mark are resurrected and reign with Christ 1,000 years (v.4). This is "the first resurrection" (v.5). Those in it are "blessed and holy" — the second death has no power over them (v.6). They are priests of God and reign with Christ (v.6).
Satan's Final Rebellion (vv.7-10): After 1,000 years, Satan is released (v.7). He deceives nations (Gog and Magog) and gathers them for battle (v.8). They surround the saints' camp — fire from heaven devours them (v.9). Satan is cast into the lake of fire forever (v.10).
The Great White Throne (vv.11-15): A great white throne — earth and heaven flee from God's face (v.11). The dead stand before God (v.12). Books are opened — the dead judged by their works (v.12). The book of life is opened (v.12). Death and Hades cast into the lake of fire — "the second death" (v.14). Anyone not in the book of life is cast into the lake of fire (v.15).

Commentary

  • Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik covers the millennium debate, Satan's binding and release, and the Great White Throne judgment.
  • Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871): blueletterbible.org A critical and explanatory commentary on the whole Bible, more concise than Matthew Henry and closer to the Hebrew and Greek, with attention to historical and geographical detail. Public domain.
  • Matthew Henry's Exposition (1710): blueletterbible.org A devotional verse-by-verse commentary in the Puritan tradition, still among the most widely read three centuries on. Public domain.

Videos

Revelation 20 | The Defeat of Satan and Death | Bible Study
Spoken Gospel

Articles

  • GotQuestions.org: gotquestions.org On the whole book: an overview of the book of Revelation -- who wrote it, when, why, and how it fits the rest of Scripture.

Links open on the publisher's own site. Nothing here is reproduced on this page.

Reflection

  • Secure in the First Resurrection (v.6) — Those who belong to Christ have no power held over them by the second death. Are you living in that security, or still carrying a fear that's already been answered?
  • A Defeated Enemy (v.10) — Satan's fate is sealed in eternal torment; he is already a defeated foe operating on borrowed time. Are you giving him more fear or weight than he deserves?
  • Every Deed Recorded (v.12) — The dead are judged by what is written in the books, according to what they did. Does knowing that nothing is hidden produce both sobriety and gratitude for what Christ has covered?
  • Death Itself Dies (v.14) — Death and Hades are thrown into the lake of fire, the last enemy finally undone. For those in Christ, does knowing death is temporary change how you face loss now?
  • The Only Thing That Matters (v.15) — Final judgment turns on one question: is your name written in the book of life? Not your works, not your religion, not your goodness — is your confidence resting there?