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

Judgment Day (20:11-15)!

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

Study Tip:

The more we know about the Old Testament, the more we understand the New Testament. Always click on the links to the Old Testament passages, they are an important tool that help 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

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.

Margin notes:

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

"A thousand years." (20:2) - Is this really a thousand years, or is John merely telling us that it's a long time? For example, we might say an object weighs a "ton" to convey that it's heavy. Also remember, a day is as 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 literally last for 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 forever defeated by Jesus. They believe that Jesus' Second Coming won't take place until after the thousand years when Satan is defeated. 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 that Jesus will return at the beginning of the millennium, not the end.  The third school of thought (amillenialism) holds that the "thousand years" is figurative and simply represents the period between Jesus' ascension and His Second Coming. They believe it is a time when the church will grow and that the period of peace is in the hearts of Christians.

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

"They lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years." (20:4) - It is unclear whether it is just Christian martyrs who will reign with Christ for a thousand years or all believers.

"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) - Some scholars believe that these are unbelievers who will not be resurrected and judged until the end of the millennium. Others believe that only martyred Christians will reign on earth with Jesus and that everyone else (believers and unbelievers) will be raised and judged later. Whichever, the clear implication is that there will be two resurrections separated by the millennium.

"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 eternal, spiritual death, which does not frighten believers.

"When the thousand years are expired." (20:7) - "When the thousand years have ended."

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

"Gog and Magog." (20:8) - Gog was "the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal "from "the land of Magog" (Ezekiel 38:2). In the Old Testament, he led the army of Magog against Israel. Here, Gog and Magog are either leaders of Satan's army or symbolize his followers (or nations) who will wage the final war against the church.  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) - In his vision, John saw heaven and earth "dissolved" and 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.

"According to their works." (20:12) - Each person will be judged according to 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).

"This is the second death." (20:14) - The "second death" means spiritual death and everlasting separation from God.

"Cast into the lake of fire." (20:15) - Proof that punishment awaits unrepentant sinners

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."

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

Application thought for the day:

What does this passage teach about the final victory of good over evil?
With this in mind, how should you be living your life?

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 Living New Testament" published by Tyndale house; "The New Living Translation" published by Tyndale House; BibleGateway.com for all their wonderful links; and of course the "King James Bible." All were critical in putting these lessons together.
© 2023 evolke

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