The Revelation · New Testament
Revelation 20
Revelation 20: the thousand years and the great white throne
General context
An angel comes down with the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain, lays hold on the dragon, binds him a thousand years, casts him into the pit and seals it, so that he should deceive the nations no more until the thousand years are fulfilled, after which he must be loosed a little season. John sees thrones and those seated on them with judgment given to them, and the souls of those beheaded for the witness of Jesus who had not worshipped the beast or taken his mark; they live and reign with Christ a thousand years. The rest of the dead do not live again until the thousand years are finished, and the text calls what it has described the first resurrection, with a blessing on those who share in it. When the thousand years expire Satan is loosed, deceives the nations in the four quarters of the earth, and gathers them to battle; fire comes down and devours them, and the devil is cast into the lake of fire. A great white throne appears, the earth and heaven flee, the dead stand, books are opened including the book of life, and each is judged according to his works. Death and hell are cast into the lake of fire.
Cited passages: Revelation 20:1, Revelation 20:2, Revelation 20:3, Revelation 20:4, Revelation 20:5, Revelation 20:6, Revelation 20:7, Revelation 20:8, Revelation 20:9, Revelation 20:10, Revelation 20:11, Revelation 20:12, Revelation 20:13, Revelation 20:14, Revelation 20:15
Revelation 20 (KJV)
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.
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Historical context
The bound figure is named here as "the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan", close to but not identical with the naming at 12:9, which reads "called the Devil, and Satan". The span "a thousand years" is stated six times across verses 2 to 7, and the text gives it no starting date, no ending date and no place in any reign. The nations deceived after the loosing are named as "Gog and Magog", and nothing else is said about them. The chapter supplies two labels of its own, both as flat statements: "This is the first resurrection" and "This is the second death". It does not locate "the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city", and it does not name anyone seated on the thrones or on the great white throne. Readers hold different schemes for arranging these events; this guide follows only the order the chapter prints and takes no position among them. The judgments and the lake of fire are reported as the text reports them.
Cited passages: Revelation 20:2, Revelation 20:3, Revelation 20:5, Revelation 20:6, Revelation 20:7, Revelation 20:8, Revelation 20:9, Revelation 20:14, Revelation 12:9
Literary context
The chapter works through shutting and opening. A pit is shut and sealed and later opened, a prison holds and then releases, books are opened, and the sea, death and hell deliver up what they held. Numbers and labels do the structural work: "a thousand years" repeats through the first half, and the narrator twice stops to name what has just been described, with "This is the first resurrection" and "This is the second death". The second half changes register from story to court, with the dead standing, books produced, and the phrase "according to their works" used twice in two verses. The deception that opened the binding, "that he should deceive the nations no more", returns the moment the binding ends, so the chapter's own wording marks the release as a resumption rather than something new.
Cited passages: Revelation 20:3, Revelation 20:5, Revelation 20:7, Revelation 20:8, Revelation 20:12, Revelation 20:13, Revelation 20:14
Key moments
- The dragon bound (Revelation 20:2). An angel binds the dragon with a chain for a thousand years.
- Thrones and the beheaded (Revelation 20:4). Those who refused the beast's mark are said to live and reign with Christ.
- The first resurrection named (Revelation 20:5). The text labels what it has just described.
- Satan loosed (Revelation 20:7). When the thousand years expire he is released from prison.
- Fire from heaven (Revelation 20:9). The gathered nations surround the camp of the saints and are devoured.
- The books opened (Revelation 20:12). The dead stand before God and are judged out of what is written.
- The second death named (Revelation 20:14). Death and hell are cast into the lake of fire and the text names it.
For reflection
The chapter says the nations are deceived again as soon as the binding ends, and does not explain why the release comes at all. What do you do with an account that reports the sequence and leaves the reason out?
