Revelation 20:2-12

2 And he seized ¹the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and ²bound him for a thousand years,

3 and threw him into ³the pit, and shut it and ⁴sealed it over him, so that ⁵he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.

4 Then I saw ⁶thrones, and ⁷seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw ⁸the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those ⁹who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. ¹⁰They came to life and ¹¹reigned with Christ for a thousand years.

5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection.

6 ¹²Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such ¹³the second death has no power, but they will be ¹⁴priests of God and of Christ, and they ¹⁵will reign with him for a thousand years.

The Defeat of Satan

7 And when the thousand years are ended, ¹⁶Satan will be released from his prison

8 and will come out ¹⁷to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, ¹⁸Gog and Magog, ¹⁹to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea.

9 And ²⁰they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded ²¹the camp of the saints and ²²the beloved city, but ²³fire came down from heaven^[a] and consumed them,

10 and the devil ²⁴who had deceived them was ²⁵thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where ²⁶the 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 ²⁷earth and sky fled away, and ²⁸no place was found for them.

12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and ²⁹books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is ³⁰the book of life. And ³¹the dead were judged by what was written in the books, ³²according to what they had done.

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Revelation 20:2-12 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION 20

This chapter contains the binding of Satan, the saints' thousand years' reign with Christ, the loosing of Satan again, the destruction of him, and the Gog and Magog army, and the last judgment: the angel that is to bind Satan is described by his descent from heaven; by his having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand; and by the use he made of them, laying hold on Satan, binding him, casting him into the bottomless pit, and then shutting it up, and setting a seal on him; by all which he will be prevented from deceiving the nations for the space of a thousand years, Re 20:1-3. After this thrones are seen, with persons on them, to whom judgment is given; who are said to be such as had been martyrs for Jesus, and had not worshipped the beast, or professed his religion; whose happiness is represented by living and reigning with Christ a thousand years, when others will not; the second death will have no power on them; they will be the priests of God, and Christ, and reign with him during the said term, having a part in the first resurrection, Re 20:4-6. At the expiration of which term Satan will be loosed, and go out of prison, deceive the nations, and gather Gog and Magog to battle; who, being exceeding numerous, will cover the breadth of the earth, encompass the camp and city of the saints, when fire will come down from heaven and destroy them, and Satan will be cast into the lake of fire, where the beast and false prophet are, and be tormented for ever and ever, Re 20:7-10. And next an account is given of the general Judgment; and the judge is described by the throne he sat on, a white cloud, and by his majesty, which is such, that the heavens and the earth flee from before him, Re 20:11. And next the persons judged are described by their common state, the dead; by their age or condition, great and small, and by their position, standing before God; and then an account of the procedure, or rule of judgment; the books are opened, and the execution of judgment according to what is found in the books, Re 20:12 in order to which the sea, death, and the grave, give up the dead in them, and the two last are cast into the lake, and with them those who are not in the book of life, Re 20:13,14.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 32

1. See Revelation 12:9
2. [2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6]
3. [See ver. 1 above]
4. Daniel 6:17; [Matthew 27:66]
5. ver. 8, 10
6. Daniel 7:9; Matthew 19:28
7. Revelation 3:21; Daniel 7:22
8. Revelation 6:9
9. Revelation 13:12, 14-16
10. [John 14:19; 2 Timothy 2:11]
11. ver. 6; Revelation 5:10; Revelation 22:5; Daniel 7:18; Matthew 20:21, 27; 2 Timothy 2:12; [Psalms 45:16]
12. Revelation 14:13
13. ver. 14; Revelation 2:11; Revelation 21:8
14. See Revelation 1:6
15. ver. 4
16. ver. 2
17. ver. 3, 10
18. Ezekiel 38:2; Ezekiel 39:1
19. See Revelation 16:14
20. [Isaiah 8:8; Ezekiel 38:9, 16; Habakkuk 1:6]
21. Hebrews 13:11, 13
22. [Psalms 132:13]
23. See Revelation 13:13
24. ver. 3, 8
25. See Revelation 19:20
26. See Revelation 16:13
27. See Psalms 102:26
28. Revelation 12:8; Daniel 2:35
29. Daniel 7:10
30. See Revelation 3:5
31. Romans 14:10; 2 Corinthians 5:10; See Revelation 11:18
32. See Matthew 16:27

Footnotes 1

[a]. Some manuscripts from God, out of heaven, or out of heaven from God

The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.