The New Testament with Commentary Revelation 20

The Millennium

Satan bound

1 And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the Abyss and a huge chain on his hand. 2 And he seized the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is a slanderer, even Satan, who deceives the whole inhabited earth,* and bound him for a thousand years; 3 he threw him into the Abyss and locked and sealed it over him so that he should not deceive the nations any more until the thousand years were finished. And after these years he must be loosed for a short time.†

Saints reign

4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them; also, I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded‡ on account of the testimony of Jesus and on account of the Word of God, even those who had not worshiped the Beast or his image and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand. And they lived and reigned with the Christ for a thousand years. 5 (Now the rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were finished.)§ This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one having a part in the first resurrection; upon such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with Him a thousand years.

The final rebellion

7 Now when the thousand years are finished Satan will be released from his prison, 8 and he will go forth to deceive the nations that are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to the war, whose number is like the sand of the sea.* 9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down out of heaven from God and devoured them.† 10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the Lake of Fire and brimstone, where the Beast and the False prophet also are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

The Great White Throne

11 Then I saw a tremendous white throne and the One who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the sky fled away;‡ and no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne;§ and books were opened. And another Book was opened, namely, of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things that were written in the books. 13 The ocean gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them;* and they were judged each one according to their works.† 14 And Death and Hades were thrown into the Lake of Fire. This is the second death, the Lake of Fire.‡ 15 And if anyone was not found written in the Book of Life he was thrown into the Lake of Fire.§

* 20:2 Well over half of the Greek manuscripts, two of the three main independent lines of transmission (including the best one), contain this clause. Since both the TR and the so-called critical text omit it, most versions do not include it. † 20:3 If language has any verifiable meaning at all, this passage is obviously talking about a literal period of one thousand years. ‡ 20:4 What cultures in our day practice beheading? § 20:5 Verse six makes clear that this part of verse 5 is parenthetical. It is participants in the first resurrection who will reign the thousand years; so that first resurrection must happen at the beginning of the thousand years, not the end; so “the rest of the dead” are the lost who will participate in the resurrection unto condemnation (call it the second resurrection), after the Millennium. Superficial readings of this passage have given rise to all sorts of confusion. * 20:8 During the Millennium there will be a population explosion. Since the government will be dictatorial, everyone will have to obey outwardly, but Satan will have no trouble raising an army of ‘dissidents’. † 20:9 The picture here is different from the battle of Armageddon—compare 19:21. ‡ 20:11 Doubtless the Face was full of wrath—at that point there will be absolutely no place to hide. § 20:12 Less than 10% of the Greek manuscripts read ‘God’ instead of “throne”, as in AV and NKJV. * 20:13 I confess that I do not understand this; how can Death be holding dead that are not in Hades? Perhaps they are regarded as partners. But then, how can the ocean have a separate roster of dead? † 20:13 Twice it says that they will be judged on the basis of their works. So how can you really evaluate someone's deeds? Only by taking account of their context. Those who never heard the Gospel will be judged within the context that they lived, and the Judge will prove that even within their own context they did not measure up. ‡ 20:14 The first death is the physical one; the second is the spiritual one—eternal separation from the Creator (the essence of death is separation). Death and Hades are treated as if they were living entities. § 20:15 That is right; since no one can be saved by their works, the only way out is the Book of Life!