Revelation — Chapter 20

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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
Map & Geography
Commentary
Videos
Reflection

Summary

Satan is bound for a thousand years, saints reign with Christ in the first resurrection, Satan is released and defeated in a final rebellion, and the dead stand before the Great White Throne — whoever is not found in the Book of Life is cast into the lake of fire.

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).
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).

Map & Geography

  • No specific geographic locations are referenced in this chapter.

Commentary

  • Enduring Word (David Guzik): enduringword.com Guzik covers the millennium debate, Satan's binding and release, and the Great White Throne judgment.
  • Charles Spurgeon: Sermon: "The Great White Throne" on vv.11-12 (MTP Vol. 11, No. 652) "A great white throne — great in authority, white in purity. From whose face the earth and heaven fled — creation itself cannot bear His gaze. The books were opened — every deed recorded. And another book — the book of life. Two sets of books: the books of works (which condemn) and the book of life (which saves). If your name is in the book of life, the books of works cannot condemn you. If your name is NOT in the book of life, the books of works WILL condemn you."

Videos

The Bible Project — Revelation Overview

Animated overview of the book's literary structure, themes, and theological message. Excellent visual introduction. (Approx. 8 minutes)

Reflection

  • 1. "Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection" (v.6). Are you part of the first resurrection — those who belong to Christ? The second death has no power over you. Live in that security.
  • 2. "The devil... was cast into the lake of fire" (v.10). Satan's fate is sealed — eternal torment. He is a defeated enemy on borrowed time. Don't fear him; he's already lost.
  • 3. "The dead were judged... according to their works" (v.12). Every deed is recorded. This should produce both sobriety (nothing is hidden) and gratitude (Christ's blood covers believers).
  • 4. "Whosoever was not found written in the book of life" (v.15). The only thing that matters at the final judgment: is your name in the book? Not your works, not your religion, not your goodness — your name in the Lamb's book.
  • 5. "Death and hell were cast into the lake of fire" (v.14). Death itself will die. The last enemy destroyed. For believers, death is temporary — it will be abolished forever.