The Thousand Years

20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, (A)holding in his hand the key to (B)the bottomless pit[a] and a great chain. And he seized (C)the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and (D)bound him for a thousand years, and threw him into (E)the pit, and shut it and (F)sealed it over him, so that (G)he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.

Then I saw (H)thrones, and (I)seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw (J)the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those (K)who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. (L)They came to life and (M)reigned with Christ for a thousand years. The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. (N)Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such (O)the second death has no power, but they will be (P)priests of God and of Christ, and they (Q)will reign with him for a thousand years.

The Defeat of Satan

And when the thousand years are ended, (R)Satan will be released from his prison and will come out (S)to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, (T)Gog and Magog, (U)to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. And (V)they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded (W)the camp of the saints and (X)the beloved city, but (Y)fire came down from heaven[b] and consumed them, 10 and the devil (Z)who had deceived them was (AA)thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where (AB)the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Judgment Before the Great White Throne

11 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence (AC)earth and sky fled away, and (AD)no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and (AE)books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is (AF)the book of life. And (AG)the dead were judged by what was written in the books, (AH)according to what they had done. 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, (AI)Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, (AJ)according to what they had done. 14 Then (AK)Death and Hades (AL)were thrown into the lake of fire. This is (AM)the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, (AN)he was thrown into the lake of fire.

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 20:1 Greek the abyss; also verse 3
  2. Revelation 20:9 Some manuscripts from God, out of heaven, or out of heaven from God

Satan Bound

20 [a]And then I saw an angel descending from heaven, holding the key of the abyss (the bottomless pit) and a great chain was in his hand. And he overpowered and laid hold of the dragon, that old serpent [of primeval times], who is the devil and Satan, and bound him [securely] for a thousand years (a millennium);(A) and the angel hurled him into the abyss, and closed it and sealed it above him [preventing his escape or rescue], so that he would no longer deceive and seduce the nations, until the thousand years were at an end. After these things he must be liberated for a short time.

The Millennial Reign

And then I saw thrones, and sitting on them were those to whom judgment [that is, the authority to act as judges] was given. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had refused to worship the beast or his image, and had not accepted his mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.(B) The rest of the dead [the non-believers] did not come to life again until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. [b]Blessed (happy, prosperous, to be admired) and holy is the person who takes part in the first resurrection; over these the second death [which is eternal separation from God, the lake of fire] has no power or authority, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and they will reign with Him a thousand years.(C)

The Final Rebellion

And when the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison (the abyss), and will come out to deceive and mislead the [c]nations which are in the four corners of the earth—[including] Gog and Magog—to gather them together for the war; their number is like the sand of the seashore.(D) And they swarmed up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints (God’s people) and the beloved city [[d]Jerusalem]; but fire came down from heaven and consumed them.(E) 10 And the devil who had deceived them was hurled into the lake of fire and burning brimstone (sulfur), where the beast (Antichrist) and false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night, forever and ever.

The Final Judgment

11 And I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them [for this heaven and earth are passing away].(F) 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the Book of Life; and the dead were judged according to what they had done as written in the books [that is, everything done while on earth].(G) 13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and death and Hades (the realm of the dead) surrendered the dead who were in them; and they were judged and sentenced, every one according to their deeds. 14 Then death and Hades [the realm of the dead] were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire [the eternal separation from God].(H) 15 And if [e]anyone’s name was not found [f]written in the Book of Life, he was hurled into the lake of fire.

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 20:1 The Greek words for “And I saw” are used seven times in chs 19 through 21 to indicate a progression at the end of time from the marriage supper of the Lamb to the millennium to the new heaven and new earth.
  2. Revelation 20:6 This is the fifth of the seven promised blessings. See note 1:3.
  3. Revelation 20:8 Non-believing descendants of the survivors of the Tribulation.
  4. Revelation 20:9 I.e. the world capital of Christ’s reign during the millennial kingdom.
  5. Revelation 20:15 Lit anyone was.
  6. Revelation 20:15 Since everyone who goes before the great white throne is to be tried and sentenced for his deeds, and no one is sinless, the only way to escape condemnation and the “lake of fire” is to have one’s name in the “Book of Life” through authentic faith in Jesus as Lord (see Ps 69:28; Phil 4:3; Rev 3:5).

The First Resurrection

20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the abyss and a great chain. He seized the dragon—the ancient serpent, who is the devil and satan—and bound him for a thousand years. [a] He also threw him into the abyss and locked and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed. After these things, he must be released for a short while.

Then I saw thrones, and people sat upon them—those to whom authority to judge was given.[b] And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Yeshua and because of the word of God. They had not worshiped the beast or his image, nor had they received his mark on their forehead or on their hand. And they came to life[c] and reigned with the Messiah for a thousand years.

The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. How fortunate and holy is the one who has a share in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no authority, but they shall be kohanim of God and the Messiah, and they shall reign with Him for a thousand years.

Judgment After 1000 Years

When the thousand years has ended, satan shall be released from his prison, and he shall come out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them for the battle.[d] Their number is like the sand of the sea. And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the kedoshim and the beloved city—but fire fell from heaven and consumed them.[e]

10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are too, and they shall be tortured day and night forever and ever.

11 Then I saw a great white throne, and the One seated on it. The earth and heaven fled from His presence, but no place was found for them. 12 And I saw the dead—the great and the small—standing before the throne. The books were opened, and another book was opened—the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what was written in the books, according to their deeds. [f] 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Sheol gave up the dead in them. Then they were each judged, each one of them, according to their deeds.

14 Then death and Sheol 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.

The Thousand Years

20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven with the key to the bottomless pit[a] and a heavy chain in his hand. He seized the dragon—that old serpent, who is the devil, Satan—and bound him in chains for a thousand years. 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.

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 foreheads or their hands. They all came to life again, and they reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

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

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

Footnotes

  1. 20:1 Or the abyss, or the underworld; also in 20:3.
  2. 20:13 Greek and Hades; also in 20:14.