Revelation Chapter 20
(Rev 20:1-3) The Devil is bound for a thousand years
I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. He 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, and 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.
When Satan (the devil) lost his place in heaven, he still continued to have some power over the earth (Revelation 12:7-12; Luke 4:5-6). He also had power in hell; in Revelation 9:1, he has the key of the abyss, the worst part of hell. Revelation 9:11 calls him by names that mean ‘the destroyer’.
In Revelation 19:17-21, we read about the great battle at Armageddon. In that battle, the devil’s forces will fight against Christ for control over the earth. In that battle, the devil will suffer complete defeat. He will lose all his power on earth, so that Christ’s rule on earth will begin.
At the same time, the devil will also suffer a similar defeat in the spirit world. That is clear because in Revelation 20:1, the devil no longer has control over the abyss. He has lost even his power in hell. Now an angel who is a servant of God holds the key to the abyss. The devil has become his prisoner, and he will remain in that place for 1000 years. That is, the same period as Christ’s rule on earth in Revelation 20:4-6.
Clearly, the description of the abyss in Revelation 20:1-3 is as a prison. The word ‘abyss’ means a hole, so deep that it has no bottom. People used to dig deep holes in the ground where they kept a supply of water for the dry season. Sometimes they used those same holes as prisons (Genesis 37:24; Jeremiah 38:6-13). They were awful places. The prisoner could only stand or sit in the deep mud. A stone covered the top, so there was no light. The hole was too deep for there to be any possibility of escape.
Such will be the devil’s prison, except that the abyss is too deep to have any bottom. It is both right and necessary that the devil should suffer punishment in such a place. His crimes are many, and he constantly desires to continue those wicked acts. When finally he is free again, he will once more persuade people to fight against God. (Keith Simons)
With Satan bound in the bottomless pit, the beast and the false prophet in the lake of fire, and all the ungodly men and women purged from the earth either at Armageddon or at the judgment of the nations (see notes on Matthew 25:31-46), there will be only a “few men left” (Isaiah 24:6) still in their natural flesh, to enter Christ’s millennial kingdom (Matthew 25:34). Redeemed Israel, having been saved both individually and nationally when she sees and accepts her Messiah (Zechariah 12:9–13:1; Romans 11:25-26) will become the world’s chief nation. All the ancient prophecies and promises concerning Israel will finally be fulfilled (e.g., Isaiah 2:2-4; Ezekiel 37:21-28; Zechariah 9:10; 14:9). (Henry Morris)
(Rev 20:4) They lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years
I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgement 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.
And I saw thrones, and they sat on them: Who sits on these thrones? Perhaps the twenty-four elders representing the church (Revelation 4:4) or the apostles (Matthew 19:28) or the company of saints as a whole (1 Corinthians 6:2-3).
And judgment was committed to them: Perhaps this is the “judging of angels” mentioned in 1 Corinthians 6:2-3, but it is more likely that these are the saints ruling on and over the earth.
They lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years: These saints reign with Jesus for the same period of time that Satan is bound (a thousand years). They administrate the kingdom of Jesus Christ over the earth, reigning over those who pass from the earth of the Great Tribulation to the earth of the Millennium.
Who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus... who had not worshipped the beast or his image, and had not received his mark: All those who overcome in Jesus will rule and reign with Him (Revelation 2:26-28, 3:12, 22, 1 Corinthians 6:2-3).
Why does John only mention the Tribulation saints?
They are specifically mentioned so as to encourage them, while not implying others will be left out. This is special vindication for Tribulation saints. They suffered under Antichrist who had said, “I will rule the earth;” now they are in authority and Antichrist is destroyed. So, these martyrs are literal, but also representative of all that give their lives in faithfulness to Jesus.
Beheaded is actually a broader word than we might think. The ancient Greek word really means “executed.”
(David Guzik)
(Rev 20:5-6) Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection
The rest of the dead didn't live until the thousand years were finished. This is 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.
What is the purpose of the millennial kingdom? For one thing, it will be the fulfillment of God’s promises to Israel and to Christ (Ps. 2; Luke 1:30–33). Our Lord reaffirmed them to His own apostles (Luke 22:29–30). This kingdom win be a worldwide display of Christ’s glory, when all nature will be set free from the bondage of sin (Rom. 8:19–22). It will be the answer to the prayers of the saints, “Thy kingdom come!” It will also be God’s final demonstration of the sinfulness of sin and the wickedness of the human heart apart from God’s grace, but more on this later.
The tribulation martyrs will be raised from the dead and given glorious thrones and rewards. The church will share in this reign, as symbolized by the twenty-four elders (Rev. 5:10; see also 2:26–28; 3:12, 21; 1 Thess. 4:13–18; 2 Tim. 2:12). Some Bible students believe that the Old Testament saints will also be a part of this “first resurrection” (Dan. 12:1–4).
The phrase “general resurrection” is not found in the Bible. On the contrary, the Bible teaches two resurrections: the first is of the saved and leads to blessing; the second is of all the lost and leads to judgment (note especially John 5:28–29; Dan. 12:2). These two resurrections will be separated by 1,000 years.
Revelation 20:6 describes the special blessings of those who share in the first resurrection. They did not earn these blessings; they are part of the believer’s inheritance in Jesus Christ. This is the sixth of the seven “beatitudes” in Revelation; the final one is in Revelation 22:7. These resurrected believers will share Christ’s glorious life, reigning as kings and priests with Him, and never experience the “second death,” the lake of fire (hell, Rev. 20:14).
During the millennium, the inhabitants of the earth will include not only glorified saints, but also citizens of the nations who bow in submission to Jesus Christ (see Matt. 25:31–40; also 8:11). Because of the earth’ s perfect conditions, people will live long lives (Isa. 65:17–25, especially v. 20). They will marry and have children who will outwardly conform to our Lord’s righteous rule. But not all of them will be truly born again as the millennium progresses, and this explains why Satan will be able to gather a great army of rebels at the close of the kingdom age (Rev. 20:8).
For many centuries, man has dreamed of a “golden age,” a “Utopia” in which the human race will be free from war, sickness, and even death. Men have tried to achieve this goal on their own and have failed. It is only when Jesus Christ reigns on David’s throne that the kingdom will come and the earth be delivered from the oppression of Satan and sin. (Weirsbe)
(Rev 20:7-10) Satan and the nations will come to war against the saints and the beloved city
And after the thousand years, Satan will be released from his prison, and 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. They went up over 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. The 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.
Satan will be released: For the thousand years of the direct reign of Jesus over this earth, Satan was bound and inactive. But after the thousand years are over, he will be released and successfully organize many people of the earth in another rebellion against God.
If Jesus has reigned so wonderfully for a thousand years, then why will the earth rebel? They will do it, and God will allow it, as a final demonstration of man’s rebellion and depravity. Outward conformity to Jesus’ rule will be required during His reign, but seemingly, an inward embrace of His Lordship will still be up to the individual.
In this we see more of the important reason God has for the Millennial Kingdom and allowing this final rebellion. For all of human history, man has wanted to blame his sinful condition on his environment. “Of course I turned out the way I did. Did you see the family I came from? Did you see the neighborhood I grew up in?” With the Millennial Kingdom of Jesus, God will give mankind a thousand years of a perfect environment – with no Satan, no crime, no violence, no evil, or other social pathology. But at the end of the 1,000 years, man will still rebel against God at his first opportunity. This will powerfully demonstrate that the problem is in us, not only in our environment. (David Guzik)
Gather them together to battle: Who will these rebels be? They will be those who survive the Great Tribulation, enter into the Millennial Kingdom, and their descendants. “Infants born during the millennium will live to its conclusion and will not be required to make a choice between the devil and Christ until the end.” (Walvoord)
Gog and Magog: These are prophetic enemies of Israel in Ezekiel 38-39, but the battle described in those chapters of Ezekiel seems to be distinct and different from this final battle.
John seems to borrow the term and use it as a symbol. Seemingly, the battles described in Ezekiel 38-39 take place before the return of Jesus, perhaps right before or during the tribulation. This final battle clearly takes place at the end of the thousand-year reign of Jesus. (David Guzik)
Surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city: We don’t know if the saints referred to here are glorified saints who reign with Jesus, or earth-inhabitants who come to faith in Jesus during the Millennium. Either way, the strategy of this vast Satanic army is clear: to destroy God’s people, and the “headquarters” or “capital city” of His administration, Jerusalem (the beloved city). (David Guzik)
Fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them: We shouldn’t even call this a final battle, because there is no battle. The fight is over before it begins. At this point, God finally deals with the devil and his followers forever. (David Guzik)
Cast into the lake of fire... they will be tormented day and night forever and ever: After this aborted battle, Satan is then judged and tormented forever – together with the beast and the false prophet, who were cast into the lake of fire at the beginning of the thousand years (Revelation 19:20).
The presence of the beast and the false prophet in the lake of fire after a thousand years argues against annihilationism. In eternal punishment, a thousand years is just the beginning. It never ends. Commentator John Trapp thought this eternal aspect of hell so terrible that he called it “another hell in the midst of hell.”
(David Guzik)
Forever and ever: Is this really eternal punishment? Yes it is; the words mean exactly what they appear to mean. “There would be no way possible in the Greek language to state more emphatically the everlasting punishment of the lost than here in mentioning both day and night and the expression ‘forever and ever,’ literally ‘to the ages of ages.’ ” (Walvoord)
(Rev 20:11-15) If anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire
I 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. I 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. The 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. Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. If anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire.
This scene hardly needs any comment at all. Earth and heaven flee away, which means it is not on earth but it is a judgment in eternity. The judge is Jesus, not the Father! Jesus himself said, "The Father has committed all judgment to the Son," (John 5:22). So it is he who sits upon this throne of majesty and gathers all the dead before him. There will also be some living people from the millennium who will be there as well for it needs to be determined as to whether their names are in the book of life or not. But judgment will be "according to what each one has done." Deeds reveal what the heart is like. They reveal belief. It is all preserved in God's great library. Books are used as symbols here; we would probably use video tapes. The whole record of every life is made known before all, and judgment will be based upon that. We have already seen in recent history a President of the United States who was forced to resign because of the tapes he made when he thought no unfriendly ear was listening. Here we learn that if your name is in the book of life, your deeds will have been righteous. Only those whose names are in the book of life can do righteous deeds. That is the point of this. Such deeds are done by the power and energy of the Spirit of God, not by the person himself. All other deeds are burned with fire, and only righteous deeds remain.
When Jesus sent out the twelve disciples to minister to other cities and towns in Israel they came back reporting great victories, and especially that the demons were subject to them. They could cast evil spirits out of people with just a word, and the demons obeyed them. They came back very excited about that. Jesus said to them, "Do not rejoice over that, [That is nothing you have done; God did that through you], but rejoice that your names are written in heaven," (Luke 10:20 NIV).That is the central question of life: "Is my name written there in the Lamb's book of life?"
It is written when you believe in Jesus. No one needs to go to the lake of fire. No one is thrown into it against his or her will. They have chosen the lake of fire! They have refused the Savior, and there is no other choice. This is not talking about those who have never heard; do not bring that up, because they are not in view here. The best information we have on them is found in Hebrews 11:6, "Anyone who comes to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." God will deal with them according to the great declaration of Scripture, "Will not the judge of all the earth do right?" (Genesis 18:25 NIV). Scripture does not really tell us what happens to them, but God will deal in justice and righteousness with them.
The great question here is, having heard of him, is your name written there? Jesus knows our hearts. Nothing has been hidden from his view. If we come to him, we will be given life. In his first epistle, John writes,
This is the testimony, that God has given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son! He who has the Son has life, but he who does not have the Son of God, does not have life. (1 John 5:11-12 NIV)
The ultimate issues of life are all settled here. If your name is written in the book of life, you enter into eternal life. If you refuse him, then your ultimate fate is the lake of fire, the second death, along with the devil and the beast and the false prophet. That is a most sobering scene. I dislike preaching about these matters, but it is wonderful to preach against this dark background and offer to all what Jesus offers -- eternal life by faith in him, as you receive him into your heart and life. May all who hear or read these words be included in the Lamb's book of life! (Ray Stedman)