Revelation 20:1-15 Lesson 496

Revelation 20:1-15
Lesson 496

Read both the "King James Bible" and the "New Living Translation."

In this lesson:

The Millennial Kingdom and the white throne:

Satan is cast into the bottomless pit (20:1-3).

Jesus rules for a thousand years (20:4).

Satan is defeated forever (20:10).

Judgment Day (20:11-15).

This ends the "judgment" segment of Revelation that began in chapter six (lesson 476).

Study Tip:

The more we know about the Old Testament, the more we understand the New. Always click on the links to the Old Testament passages; they are an essential tool that helps us piece together the message of Revelation.

The Revelation of Saint John the Divine

The King James Bible

Revelation 20:1-15
The thousand years

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

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

3 And 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.

4 And 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.

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

6 Blessed 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.

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

8 And 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.

9 And 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.

10 And 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.

11 And 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.

12 And 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.

13 And 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.

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

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

Margin notes:

"He laid hold on the dragon." (20:2) - Which means "He grabbed Satan."

"A thousand years." (20:2) - Is this really a thousand years, or is John simply telling us Satan will be chained for a long time? For example, we might say an object weighs a "ton" to let others know it's heavy. Also, remember, a day is a thousand years for God (2 Peter 3:8). Regardless, this "thousand-year" period is called the millennium (from the Latin word for thousand). Students of the Bible disagree over when this "thousand-year" period will begin, and how. Some Christians believe the millennium is a period of worldwide peace that will last a thousand years. At the end of the thousand years, Satan will be released from "the bottomless pit," gather another army of unbelievers, and be defeated forever by Jesus (20:7-10). They believe that Jesus' Second Coming will take place after the thousand years when Satan is defeated forever. This school of thought is called postmillennialism.  Other scholars subscribe to the premillennialism theory. Like postmillennialists, they believe the thousand years is literal. However, they are convinced Jesus will return at the beginning of the millennium, not the end. A third school of thought (amillennialism) holds that the "thousand years" is figurative and simply represents the time between Jesus' ascension and Second Coming. They believe it is an era when the church will grow and that the time of peace referred to is in the hearts of Christians. There is also a minority opinion that the millennium is the first 1,000 years that believers will enjoy in paradise, and other heavenly eras will follow that period.

"After that he must be loosed a little season." (20:3) - "After that, he (Satan) will be released for a short time."

"They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." (20:4) - It is unclear whether Christian martyrs will reign with Christ for a thousand years, or all believers. Additional note: Some theologians don't believe that Jesus will physically rule. They are convinced He will reign over the spirit of mankind, which will lead to an era of peace and prosperity.

"His mark." (20:4) - The mark of the antichrist as first mentioned in Revelation 13:12-17.

"The rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished." (20:5) - Many scholars believe these are deceased unbelievers who will not be resurrected and judged until the end of the millennium. Others think that only martyred Christians will reign on earth with Jesus and that everyone else (believers and unbelievers) will be raised and judged later. Whichever is correct, the clear implication is that there will be two resurrections separated by a thousand years.

"This is the first resurrection." (20:5) - "Christians hold two basic views concerning this first resurrection. (1) Some believe the first resurrection is spiritual (in our hearts at salvation), and that the millennium is our spiritual reign with Christ between his first and second comings. During this time, we are priests of God because Christ reigns in our hearts.  In this view, the second resurrection is the bodily resurrection of all people for judgment. (2) Others believe the first resurrection occurs after Satan has been set aside. It is a physical resurrection of believers who then reign with Christ on the earth for a literal 1,000 years. The second resurrection occurs at the end of this millennium in order to judge unbelievers who have died." (From the "Life Application Study Bible" published by Tyndale House Publishing, Carol Stream, Illinois; page 2578)

"Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection." (20:6) - This is the fifth of seven "beatitudes" in Revelation. The other six can be found in 1:3, 14:13, 16:15, 19:9, 22:7, and 22:14.

"The second death hath no power." (20:6) - "Eternal damnation has no power." The second death is spiritual death. It is eternal separation from God. This does not frighten believers whose names are written in the Book of Life. They will enjoy an everlasting union with the Creator.

"When the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison." (20:7) - "When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison." Upon his release, Satan will make one last attempt to gain control of the world.

"The four quarters of the earth." (20:8) - "The four corners of the earth."

"Gog and Magog." (20:8) - In the Old Testament, Gog was "the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal "from "the land of Magog" (Ezekiel 38:2). He led the army of Magog against Israel. Here, Gog and Magog are either leaders of Satan's army or symbolize his followers (nations). They will wage one last war against God and the church only to be defeated (Ezekiel 38:17-23).  You can learn more from Ezekiel 38-39.

"Compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city." (20:9) - "Surrounded God's people and the beloved city (Jerusalem)."

"The devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone." (20:10) - As prophesied in Daniel 7:11 more than 500 years earlier.

"The earth and the heaven fled away." (20:11) - John saw heaven and earth "dissolved" in his vision. They were replaced with a new heaven and earth (2 Peter 3:10-13).

"I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God." (20:12) - Everyone, the rich and the poor, the powerful and the weak, the famous and the anonymous, will be judged.

"The books were opened." (20:12) - The book of life will be opened, just as prophesied by Daniel twenty-five hundred years ago (Daniel 7:9-10). The Book of Life was first mentioned in Exodus 32:31-32.

"They were judged every man according to their works." (20:12) - Each person will be judged according to their faith and the life they led (Psalm 28:4; Daniel 12:2; Matthew 12:36-37; Luke 14:14; John 5:28-29; Romans 2:5-8). Jesus will judge "the secrets of men" (Romans 2:16).

"This is the second death." (20:14) - The first death is our body's demise. The "second death" is spiritual death, everlasting separation from God. Believers will not suffer this death.

"Death and hell were cast into the lake of fire." (20:15) - There will be no more death or fear of hell in heaven.

New Living Translation

Revelation 20:1-15
The Thousand Years

1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit and a heavy chain in his hand.

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

3 The angel threw him into the bottomless pit, which he then shut and locked so Satan could not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years were finished. Afterward he must be released for a little while.

4 Then I saw thrones, and the people sitting on them had been given the authority to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their testimony about Jesus and for proclaiming the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his statue, nor accepted his mark on their forehead or their hands. They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

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

6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. For them the second death holds no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him a thousand years.

The Defeat of Satan

7 When the thousand years come to an end, Satan will be let out of his prison.

8 He will go out to deceive the nations-called Gog and Magog-in every corner of the earth. He will gather them together for battle-a mighty army, as numberless as sand along the seashore.

9 And I saw them as they went up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded God's people and the beloved city. But fire from heaven came down on the attacking armies and consumed them.

10 Then the devil, who had deceived them, was thrown into the fiery lake of burning sulfur, joining the beast and the false prophet. There they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

The Final Judgment

11 And I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide.

12 I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God's throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books.

13 The sea gave up its dead, and death and the grave gave up their dead. And all were judged according to their deeds.

14 Then death and the grave were thrown into the lake of fire. This lake of fire is the second death.

15 And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.

This second Bible text from the "New Living Translation" (Tyndale House, Publishers, Wheaton, Illinois) is a paraphrase and not an accurate word-for-word translation of the Bible. However, it is a helpful tool when read with the "King James Version."

Today's question:

1. What is "the lake of fire?" (20:10)

Because Christ lives, death is not a tragedy but a triumph.

Answer: (Do you agree?)

1. "The lake of fire is the ultimate destination of everything wicked - Satan, the beast, the false prophet, the demons, death, hell, and all those whose names are not recorded in the Book of Life because they did not place their faith in Jesus Christ. John's vision does not permit any gray areas in God's judgment. If by faith we have not identified with Christ, confessing him as Lord, there is no hope, no second chance, no other appeal."

(The "Life Application Study Bible" published by Tyndale House Publishing, Carol Stream, Illinois, page 2579)

Application thought for the day:

What does this passage teach about the final victory of good over evil?
With that in mind, how should we be living our lives?

Thanks to the writings and commentary of John Wesley and Adam Clarke. Also, "The Layman's Bible Study Notebook" by Irving Jensen published by Harvest House Publishing, Irvine, California; the "Life Change Series" published by NavPress books, Colorado Springs, Colorado; the "Life Application Study Bible" published by Tyndale House Publishing, Carol Stream, Illinois; the "Quest Study Bible" published by The Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "Robertson's New Testament Word Studies;" "The MacArthur Bible Commentary" by John MacArthur published by Thomas Nelson, Nashville, Tennessee; "Wisdom of the Bible" CD by Topics Entertainment, Inc., Renton, Washington for their inspiring pictures; "My utmost for His Highest" by Oswald Chambers, published by Barbour Publishing, Inc., Uhrichsville, Ohio; The "Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge" by Reuben Archer Torrey; "Hope For Each Day" by Billy Graham published by J. Countryman, a division of Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee; "Easton's Bible Dictionary" by Matthew George Easton; "Unger's Bible Dictionary" by Merrill F. Unger, published by Moody Press, Chicago, Illinois; "Halley's Bible Handbook" by Henry H. Halley, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, Michigan; "The Everyday Bible" published by World Wide Publications, Minneapolis, Minnesota; "The Living New Testament" published by Tyndale house, Wheaten, Illinois; "The New Living Translation" published by Tyndale House, Wheaten, Illinois; "The New Testament" translated from the Latin Vulgate, published by Guild Press, New York, New York; BibleGateway.com for all their wonderful links; and of course, the "King James Bible." All were critical in putting these lessons together.
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