Revelation 20
Berean Standard Bible · Compare translations · AD 68 – AD 96 · Late apostolic age · Tap a verse to copy, share or highlight ·
15 verses · 458 words · ~2 min read · ~3 min listen
Satan Bound
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.
Satan Cast into the Lake of Fire
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.
Judgment before the Great White Throne
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.
Footnotes (1)
- a v9 BYZ and TR came down from God out of heaven
Study notes on this chapter · 2
Gog of Magog
Ezekiel 38–39 describes Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, from the land of Magog, who leads a great coalition against a restored Israel 'in the latter years' and is destroyed by God. Revelation 20 speaks of 'Gog and Magog' gathered for a last battle after the thousand years. Who Gog is, and when, has been disputed for millennia.
When: Ezekiel, c. 590–570 BC; proposed fulfillments range from the ancient world to the end of time.
Ways people read this (4)
- A future invasion of Israel by a northern coalition before or at the end of the age, sometimes identified with modern powers (a common popular reading, which has produced many conflicting identifications).
- A symbolic picture of the final assault of evil on the people of God, taken up in Revelation 20 (amillennial and idealist readings).
- A prophecy of the ancient threats to postexilic Israel, such as the Scythians or the Seleucids.
- An apocalyptic image that cannot be tied to one historical event.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.
The thousand years
Revelation 20 describes Satan bound for a thousand years, the martyrs living and reigning with Christ for a thousand years, and a release of Satan before a final judgment. Christians have long disagreed about when and how it is fulfilled. This is the only passage that mentions a thousand-year reign.
When: Revelation, c. AD 90s.
Ways people read this (4)
- Premillennial: Christ returns before a literal or long earthly reign, which precedes the final judgment (historic and dispensational forms).
- Amillennial: the thousand years is symbolic of the present age, in which Christ reigns in heaven and the church on earth, and Satan is restrained (Augustine, many Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran and Reformed traditions).
- Postmillennial: the gospel will transform the world over a long period, after which Christ returns.
- Views also differ on what the 'first resurrection' is.
Editorial note by BibleWay. Interpretations vary; dates are approximate scholarly estimates.