Revelation 20:1

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

 

Revelation 20:1

“And I saw”

• This phrase introduces a new scene
• These events immediately follow those of chapter 19

“an angel come down from heaven”

• This angel is sent from God to earth

“having the key”

• The key refers to God’s control of the events on earth
• God has the key; God is in control

 “the bottomless pit”

• Greek “abussos” is used to translate the Hebrew “tehom” which means the “deep” or “the depths of the earth” and in Genesis 1:2 it represents the primeval ocean. Satan will be bound on earth which will be an empty void like the earth was before God created the rest of creation
• The “pit” represents the circumstances God places on Satan to control him

 “a great chain in his hand.”

• The chain is a symbol of restraint
• God is going to restrain Satan in this “pit”
• Satan will not be able to deceive anyone for 1000 years (Rev. 20:3) because all of wicked humanity is dead and all of the righteous are alive with Jesus in heaven (see Rev. 20:4,5)
• This is a chain of restraint: there is no one left to tempt
• The pit represents the circumstances of restraint that God has placed on Satan which limit his ability to harm anyone (see also Rev. 9:1; 11:7; 17:8)

 

Revelation 20:2

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

 

Revelation 20:2

“And he laid hold on the dragon”

• Greek “krateo” means “to seize or to hold fast”

“the dragon”

• This refers back to Revelation 12:9
• This is the red dragon which is also the scarlet beast (Rev. 17:3)
• This dragon is Satan

 “that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan”

• The Devil: Greek “diabolos” meaning slanderer or liar
• Satan: Greek “Satanas” meaning adversary
• The dragon is the devil himself!

 “and bound him”

• Bound: refers to the restraints placed on Satan by God (no one to tempt)

“a thousand years,”

• This is either a literal 1000 years or a symbolic 1000 years (360,000 years)
• Since the subject is a literal being (Satan) this is probably a literal 1000 years

• Also a literal 1000 years is consistent with the earth’s history of 7000 years (6000 + 1000) and would represent the Sabbath rest for this earth (Heb. 4:3-5)
• The 7 days of the creation week are representative of the entire history of this earth

 

 

 

Revelation 20:3

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.

 

Revelation 20:3

“And cast him into the bottomless pit”

• Satan is now cast into this bottomless abyss
• Satan is now imprisoned by the circumstances that God has brought about
• Satan no longer has anyone to tempt:
• The saints are in heaven (I Thess. 4:17 compare Rev. 21:1-3)
• The wicked are dead (Rev. 19:17-21)

 “and shut him up,”

• Satan will not be able to leave this pit
• Satan will have nothing to do and God will keep him there

“set a seal upon him”

• Satan is sealed in this prison just like he tried to seal Jesus in the tomb

 “that he should deceive the nations no more”

• Satan is chained by circumstances: he has no one to tempt or deceive
• Satan will be sealed in these circumstances for 1000 years

“till the thousand years should be fulfilled:”

• This is the millennium when God’s people will be in heaven

 “after that he must be loosed”

• “must” because God requires it
• “loosed” this is the opposite of being bound with the chains
• At the end of the 1000 years Satan will be released to deceive again
• This occurs because God will raise all the wicked at the end of the 1000 years (see Rev. 20:5)

“a little season.”

• Means “a little time”

 

Revelation 20:4

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.

 

Revelation 20:4

“And I saw thrones”

• Thrones are a symbol of rulership or judgment

“and they sat upon them”

• These thrones are for judgment
• The righteous are now seen as sitting down to judge the wicked

 “judgment was given unto them”

• Greek “krima” which means “sentence or verdict” or “ a decision rendered”
• This text relates to I Cor. 6:2,3 where “the saints will judge the world” and “judge” angels
• “them” refers to the righteous saved who will review God’s judgments on the wicked just as the 24 elders are currently involved in reviewing God’s judgments on those written in the book of life

 “I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus”

• “souls” here is symbolic of those who died for their witness about Jesus (souls does not represent spirits or ghosts)
• “souls” here is similar to Revelation 6:9 and is symbolic of God’s people who died for Him
• These are martyrs for God

 “and for the word of God”

• These souls will die for Jesus and for His Word
• In the last days God’s people will reject the false Christ (remain true to Jesus) and reject the false Sabbath (keep all of God’s Law)

 “and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image,”

• God’s people in the last days will not worship the beast or his image
• This refers to the righteous who will reject the false Sabbath and the false Christ and will not fail God even in the face of a death threat (Rev. 13:15,16)

 “neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands;”

• God’s people will not receive Satan’s mark
• God’s people will reject the false Sabbath: they will refuse to believe it (forehead) and will refuse to pretend to keep it (hands)
• This phrase refers to Rev. 13:16; 14:9,10)

 “and they lived”

• “lived” means “came to life”

“and reigned”

• The saved will reign with Christ in heaven (Dan. 7:27)
• They also will judge with Christ (see Rev. 20:4)

“a thousand years.”

• The righteous will reign in heaven 1000 years and then will return to earth with the New Jerusalem (see Rev. 21:1,2)

 

Revelation 20:5

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

 

Revelation 20:5

“But the rest of the dead lived not again until”

• This refers to the wicked dead who will not live again “until” after the 1000 years
• The righteous are all living and have been taken to heaven
• There are two main resurrections (Acts 24:15; John 5:29):
• The resurrection of life
• The resurrection of judgment

 “But the rest of the dead lived not again until”

• The first resurrection is “of life” (John 5:29) and occurs at the 2^nd Coming (I Thess. 4:13-17)
• The second resurrection is “of judgment” (John 5:29) and is described in this text and occurs at the end of the 1000 years

 “This is the first resurrection.”

• This phrase is referring to the righteous mentioned in verse 4 and not to the wicked referred to in verse 5
• This phrase actually belongs with the next verse (6) which describes the righteous who will reign in heaven with Jesus

• This “first resurrection” occurs at the 2^nd Coming
• The “second resurrection” occurs at the 3^rd Coming of Jesus at the end of the 1000 years when God raises the wicked

 “the thousand years were finished”

• The “rest of the dead” which is all of wicked humanity not saved by Jesus will remain dead for 1000 years
• This is the 1000 years that Satan is bound by circumstances with no one to tempt

 

Revelation 20:6

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.

 

Revelation 20:6

“Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection:”

• Blessed: Greek “makarios” means “happy” or “fortunate”
• This is one of the 7 beatitudes of Revelation
• Those who are part of the first resurrection will live forever in happiness

 “on such the second death hath no power,”

• The second death will not affect God’s people
• The second death affects only the wicked
• The second death is the eternal death that the wicked suffer after being raised at the end of the 1000 years
• This death means complete destruction

• The first death affects everyone except those translated (I Cor. 15:22, 51-53; Heb. 9:27)
• All those who suffer the first death will be raised (John 5:28,29)
• Righteous: to eternal life (I Cor. 15:51-55)
• Wicked: to eternal death (Rev. 20:9; 21:8)
• The second death is the exact opposite of the endless life for the righteous

 “but they shall be priests of God and of Christ,”

• Priests are those who present offerings to the Lord
• The saved will minister to God
• “of God” means “in company with God” or “serving God”
• “of Christ” means “in company with Christ” or “serving Christ”

 “shall reign with him a thousand years.”

• God’s people will reign with Him in heaven during this 1000 years
• God’s people will have new homes in heaven (John 14:1-3; 13:36; 17:24; Rev. 21:1-3)

 

Revelation 20:7

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

 

Revelation 20:7

“when the thousand years are expired”

• Satan will be kept in this pit of circumstances for 1000 years

“Satan shall be loosed”

• Satan is loosed or unbound at the end of the 1000 years because the circumstances will change
• God will now raise the wicked which will give Satan someone to tempt (thus he is loosed)

 “out of his prison,”

• Satan is now “out of his prison”
• Satan is now able to tempt the nations
• Satan is no longer in the “bottomless pit” which was an empty desolate world with no one to tempt because the world is now full of the wicked again

 

Revelation 20:8

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.

 

Revelation 20:8

“And shall go out to deceive the nations”

• Satan will now go back to work
• Satan will now attempt to deceive the “nations”
• “nations” here represents all those whom Satan has previously deceived: all the wicked of all the ages

 “which are in the four quarters of the earth”

• “four quarters”: these people are scattered throughout the whole world

“Gog and Magog,”

• Gog represents the leaders of the wicked
• Magog represents where the wicked dwell

 “to gather them together to battle”

• Satan is now going to gather the wicked together for the world’s final battle
• This will be the final battle between God and the wicked

“the number of whom is as the sand of the sea”

• The number of wicked is countless
• This will be the largest army ever seen in this world

 

Revelation 20:9

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.

 

Revelation 20:9

“And they went up on the breadth of the earth,”

• This same phrase is applied to the Chaldeans “who march through the breadth of the earth to seize habitations not their own” (Hab.1:6)
• This is exactly what Satan will try to do: Satan will try to seize the holy city (New Jerusalem)

 “and compassed the camp of the saints about,”

• Satan’s army of the wicked will surround God’s “camp”

“and the beloved city”

• “The camp of the saints” is “the beloved city”
• This city is the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21:10)

 “and fire came down from God out of heaven”

• This is God’s final answer: fire
• The wages of sin is death
• This is literal fire

“and devoured them.”

• “Devoured” literally means “ate down”
• This is translated “consumed” in the R.S.V.

• This means they will be annihilated
• This is the 2^nd death
• This not endless torture

 

Revelation 20:10

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.

 

Revelation 20:10

“And the devil that deceived them”

• Satan will now receive his final punishment

“was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone”

• This “lake of fire” is the surface of the earth turned into a lake of destruction
• This lake of fire and brimstone represents eternal destruction
• Satan will be destroyed forever

 “where the beast and the false prophet are,”

• This refers to Revelation 19:20 where the beast and false prophet were thrown at the 2^nd Coming
• This phrase tells us that they were destroyed at the 2^nd Coming since they remained in the lake but the lake disappeared until now

• The “beast” in Rev. 19:20 represented the Papacy
• The “false prophet” in Rev. 19:20 represented Apostate Protestantism
• Neither the Papacy nor Apostate Protestantism will exist at the 3^rd Coming since the world will have realized that they were misled and will not follow them again

“and shall be tormented day and night”

• This means that the torment is eternal in results not in length
• The torment will be continuous until it has been completed

“for ever and ever.”

• “forever”: here means until destroyed
• This means complete destruction
• This means eternal loss but not eternal suffering

• This phrase means that Satan will suffer continuously until he is destroyed permanently

 

 

Revelation 20:11

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.

 

Revelation 20:11

“And I saw a great white throne,”

• Now John sees a white throne
• The throne is a symbol of authority
• White is a symbol of purity and righteousness

“him that sat on it”

• This probably refers to Christ on the throne of judgment

“from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away;”

• This shows the absolute power of God (Christ) sitting on the throne: earth and heaven fled away at His command
• At His command earth and heaven were made and now are destroyed

“and there was found no place for them.”

• The earth and heaven disappeared

 

 

Revelation 20:12

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.

 

Revelation 20:12

“And I saw the dead”

• This refers to the wicked dead who were raised at the 2^nd resurrection at the 3^rd Coming

“small and great,”

• All the wicked will stand at God’s throne of judgment
• There is no status (rich, poor, king, or slave) that will help you evade God’s justice

 “stand before God”

• They will stand before the throne of judgment

“and the books were opened”

• This refers to the books which recorded all of lost mankind’s actions
• These are actually the books of death since they contain the acts of all those who will perish and are compared to the book of life

 “and another book was opened,”

• This is a different book which is mentioned for comparison

“which is the book of life:”

• This other book is the book of life which contains the list of the saved and their actions (see Phil. 4:3; Luke 10:20)
• This book of life was involved in the investigative judgment prior to the 2^nd Coming (compare Rev. 13:8 and Rev. 5:6-9)

• This book of life is the scroll of the Lamb Slain (Rev. 13:8)
• This book was used prior to the 2^nd Coming to prepare the righteous universe for the saved and to vindicate God’s dealings with the righteous

 “and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books”

• “the dead” here refers to the wicked dead who were just raised to life at the 3^rd Coming
• These wicked will be “judged” out of those things recorded in these books of death
• They will be judged by what their life revealed

 “according to their works.”

• This is how they will be judged
• They will be judged by what they did
• You can not be saved by your works but you will be punished according to your works

 

Revelation 20:13

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.

 

Revelation 20:13

“And the sea gave up the dead which were in it;”

• If literal this is mentioned to emphasize that no one will be exempt even those lost in the sea
• If symbolic: the sea represents the world’s population, all of whom will be raised for this final judgment

 “and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them”

• This again emphasizes the universality of this resurrection: all the wicked will be raised
• Death has no hold on anyone when God commands “Arise”

“hell”

• here refers to the grave, which can not hold anyone if God calls them forth

“and they were judged every man according to their works.”

·         “every man” refers to all the wicked

·         They will be Judged “according to their works”

·         All of the wicked will be raised to life to understand their choices and also for closure for the saved

 

Revelation 20:14

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

 

Revelation 20:14

“And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire”

• Death will now be destroyed forever: there will be no more dying in the world made new (Rev. 21:4)
• “the lake of fire” represents eternal destruction: this means that death will never again exist
• Hell: represents the grave, which is the abode of the dead
• The grave will be no more: There will be no graveyards in heaven or on the earth
• You will not be able to visit the abode of the dead

 “This is the second death.”

• The first death refers to the natural death which the majority of mankind (good or bad) will experience except those translated
• The second death is an eternal death from which no one will be raised
• Everything and everyone that goes into the lake of fire will experience this second death: eternal destruction
• This is the death of the wicked at the 3^rd Coming

 

Revelation 20:15

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

 

Revelation 20:15

“And whosoever was not found written in the book of life”

• Those not in the book of life are the wicked lost
• The book of life contains those saved

“was cast into the lake of fire.”

• The lake of fire represents eternal destruction
• Those not in the book of life will be destroyed forever

 

Summary

• Revelation chapter 20 describes the events which follow chapter 19 (the 2^nd Coming)
• Revelation chapter 20 begins with a description of Satan bound in the abyss for 1000 years
• The angel with the key to the bottomless pit represents God’s control over Satan
• The bottomless pit represents the circumstances that God controls Satan with: in this case the absence of anyone to tempt, since all of wicked humanity are dead
• Satan will be loosed at the end of the 1000 years to tempt again, because God will raise up the wicked at the 3^rd Coming of Christ when He returns with the righteous in the Holy City
• Another throne room scene is then described, which will occur during the 1000 years when the saved are in heaven
• This is when the righteous saved will judge the wicked including the lost angels
• The first resurrection involves the righteous saved and occurs at the 2^nd Coming: they will spend 1000 years in heaven with Christ
• The second resurrection involves the wicked and occurs at the end of the 1000 years and allows Satan to be “loosed” to tempt again
• Satan will then attempt to raise an army to attack God’s Holy City (the camp of the saints)
• Then fire will come down out of heaven and destroy Satan and the wicked
• The lake of fire represents eternal destruction: Satan and all of wicked humanity and death and the grave will be thrown into this lake and destroyed forever
• This is the second death!
• There is no resurrection from this death!