Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

What does Revelation Chapter 20 mean?

In prior chapters, John described his vision of the final judgments on earth, leading up to the defeat of the Antichrist and the False Prophet at Armageddon. Following that conflict, the two Satanic figureheads are cast into the lake of fire. This chapter unfolds the Devil’s destiny afterwards.

John sees an angel binding Satan with a great chain and confining him to the bottomless pit for a thousand years. During this time, it seems Satan is not allowed to exert his normal influence on the world. Part of this binding, and eventual releasing, seems to be to prove that mankind is desperately wicked—even after a millennium of peace, some people will still choose to reject God, as seen later in the chapter. During this time, those who were saved during the tribulation are brought back to life: the first resurrection (Revelation 20:1–6).

Satan’s release at the end of the thousand years results in a rebellion. This is a sad commentary on man’s limitless ability to reject God and follow his own stubborn pride. Even after ten centuries of peace and righteousness, led by Christ Himself, so many people will be willing to follow Satan that “their number is like the sand of the sea.” Once again, those who oppose God will be soundly defeated—this time, however, Satan is cast forever into the lake of fire. There will be no escape or temptation from the Devil any more (Revelation 20:7–11).

After the final defeat and punishment of Satan, the rest of mankind is resurrected. These are the non-believers, brought back to life in the second resurrection. This brings them to a great white throne, symbolic of purity and justice. Unlike the rainbow throne described in earlier chapters, this one is austere. Those who died in Christ are judged on the basis of His life, rather than their own—those are the persons whose names were written in the book of life (John 3:16–18). In contrast, here at the great white throne judgment, unbelievers are judged on their own deeds, which means damnation (Romans 6:23). Every person who did not follow Christ is consigned to the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11–15).

At this point in Revelation, victory over death and evil is complete. Every harm, every wrong, and every sin has been punished. Every person who followed God has been restored and rescued. Satan is gone forever. All wrongs have been made right. What follows in the next chapters are John’s visions of the eternity believers will share with Christ.

Chapter Context
This chapter comes between the account of our Lord’s decisive victory at Armageddon and the descent of the New Jerusalem from heaven to earth. It focuses on the beginning of Jesus’ reign on the earth and the great white throne judgment when unbelievers from all periods of history are judged and sentenced to eternal suffering in the lake of fire. Daniel 7:18, Isaiah 11, Joel 3:16–21, Obadiah 1:21, and Micah 4:2 are just a few of the Old Testament references to the reign of Jesus on the earth. After this point in the end times, evil has been entirely and completely defeated.

Verse by Verse

Verse 1. Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain.

Satan, also called the Devil, rebelled against God before the dawn of human history (Isaiah 14:12–15). Since then he has opposed God and God’s people with cunning and persistence. Revelation 16:13–16 reports that he stirs up international armies to thwart God’s purpose for mankind. But after the Lord destroys the massive armies that war against him and casts the beast and the false prophet into the lake of fire, the Devil is incarcerated.

If Satan were allowed to continue his wicked activity, the reign of Christ on the earth would not enjoy peace and righteousness. We read, therefore, that an angel descends from heaven, holding the key to the bottomless pit and a huge chain. The intent, as we learn in the next verse, is to incarcerate the Devil. We do not know whether the chain is figurative or literal, but we know it is effective, and the Devil is about to feel its strength.

Some wonder why God would not choose to cast Satan into the lake of fire immediately, rather than hold him for a thousand years before being released. Most likely, this is part of God’s “message” as seen in Revelation. Even after a millennium of goodness and justice, human beings will still choose to reject God and follow Satan. The claim that mankind would follow God “if only” He did something more to win them is a myth, which events in the end times explicitly disprove.

Context Summary
Revelation 20:1–3 describes the Devil’s punishment, following the doom of the Antichrist and the False Prophet we read about in Revelation 19:20–21. Satan is enclosed in the bottomless pit, to be released at the end of a thousand years. Matthew 24:29–31 reports the coming of Christ at the end of the tribulation, and Matthew 25:31–46 describes the judgment of the nations that takes place when Jesus inaugurates His kingdom on earth.

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

According to this verse, the angel with the key to the bottomless pit and a huge chain captures the Devil, Satan, and binds him for a thousand years. Three schools of thought differ on the interpretation of the thousand years.

Postmillennialism believes this is a utopian period brought about by the preaching of the gospel. They see the world as getting better in preparation for the thousand years and anticipate Christ’s arrival to the earth at the end of the thousand years.

Amillennialism believes the thousand years are entirely figurative. They deny a literal reign of Christ on earth for a thousand years and regard His reign as taking place in the hearts of His people. Generally, they refer to the church as the kingdom.

Premillennialism believes the thousand years is a literal period in which Christ rules the world after He returns to earth and judges the Antichrist, the False Prophet, and the nations.

The fact that Satan is bound, rather than immediately destroyed, seems to be part of God’s message in the end times. No matter how much evidence humanity is given, those who seek to reject God will always find an excuse. After a thousand years of peace and righteousness, humans will still choose to defy God. After this final demonstration of God’s justice, Satan will be permanently and utterly defeated.

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

The descending angel captures the Devil, throws him into the bottomless pit, and seals the entrance to the pit. In this verse, we learn that the Devil will not be allowed to deceive the nations during the thousand-year period. His deceptive influence began in the garden of Eden and then manifested itself in the hearts and minds of human beings to lead them into imagining all kinds of evil. God judged this evil by bringing a flood on the earth. Soon after the flood, however, humans congregated at Babel to build a name for themselves and construct a high tower on which they proposed to worship the heavenly bodies. God judged them decisively.

The Devil has continually influenced nations to oppose God’s will, and Ephesians 2:2 identifies him as “the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience.” When the Devil offered Jesus the kingdoms of the world if He would fall down and worship him (Matthew 4:9), Jesus did not deny that the Devil possesses the kingdoms. But someday, the Devil will be unable to deceive the nations until he is released from the pit at the end of the thousand-year reign of Christ. Then he will be “released for a little while.”

The purpose of this release seems to be so that God can prove a point: that no amount of evidence will ever be enough for those determined to reject God. Human sin, and our sin nature, will override everything else if we allow it. During the end times, nonbelievers will react to prophecy and miracles with anger and hate, not repentance. After a millennium of Christ’s rule, people on earth will still choose to follow Satan, proving that the excuse “if God had just given me more evidence…” is a lie.

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

Strictly speaking, the resurrection John sees here involves a specific group of Christians: the martyred believers of the great tribulation. The “first resurrection” includes those who are raised at the rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:16), along with these end-times believers, into eternal life. Those who are part of the “second resurrection,” described later, face only judgment (Revelation 20:5; 20:11–15).

The apostle Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:12 that Christians will reign with Christ. Revelation 2:26–27 promises that overcomers will receive authority over the nations and will rule them with a rod of iron. Also, it appears the armies of heaven will reign with Jesus (Revelation 19:14). The armies are the saints who accompany Christ to the earth. Further, tribulation martyrs will be resurrected to participate in the administration of Christ’s earthly kingdom (Revelation 20:4). Based on Daniel 12:1–3, some scholars believe that Old Testament believers will also be raised to rule in this administration.

Whom will these individuals rule? The “sheep” at the judgment of the nations (Matthew 25:33–34) will enter the kingdom in their physical bodies. Many of them will procreate, and the cycle of birth will continue during the kingdom reign. Each generation will come under the rule of God’s people. Although righteousness will prevail, sin will erupt occasionally and require the judicial attention of those who reign with Christ (Isaiah 65:20; Zechariah 5:3–4).

Context Summary
Revelation 20:4–10 focuses on the reign of Christ during the millennium: the thousand years of Christ’s rule on earth, as well as what happens at the end of that era. The millennial reign begins after the Devil is imprisoned in the bottomless pit (Revelation 20:1–3) and before the unrighteous dead of all periods of history are judged and consigned to the lake of fire (Revelation 20:11–15). These events precede the descent of the New Jerusalem from heaven (Revelation 21).

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

This verse assures us there will be a resurrection of the wicked dead. It will occur at the end of the millennium. The first resurrection that John saw occurs before the millennium. Christ arose as the “firstfruits” (1 Corinthians 15:20), evidence of a future resurrection harvest. The resurrection of church saints before the tribulation comes next (1 Thessalonians 4:13–17), followed by the resurrection of the two faithful witnesses in the middle of the tribulation (Revelation 11:9–12), followed by the resurrection of tribulation martyrs and Old Testament saints at the end of the tribulation (Revelation 20:4; Daniel 12:1–3).

All these resurrected believers reign with Christ throughout the millennium. The resurrection described in 1 Corinthians 15:51–55 guarantees believers a brand-new body. It will be incapable of dying or decomposing. It will be like the resurrected body of the Lord (Philippians 3:21). Sin, pain, sorrow, and death will no longer be the experience of believers.

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

According to this verse whoever participates in the first resurrection is blessed and holy. “Blessed” is a beatitude that means “happy” or “spiritually prosperous.” A blessed person may not be materially rich, but he is happy and spiritually prosperous. All who rise from the dead in the first resurrection, regardless of when or how they died, are blessed, and they are free forever from the second death. The second death refers to suffering forever in the lake of fire (Revelation 20:14).

Participants in the first resurrection will perform priestly and kingly duties during the thousand-year reign of Christ. The designation, “thousand years,” occurs six times in chapter 20, so it would be hard to reject this designation as something other than a literal period of time. Prior to the thousand years, Christ returns to earth and destroys the armies that oppose Him. He throws the Beast and the False Prophet into the lake of fire. Also, before the thousand years begin, an angel incarcerates Satan in the bottomless pit, tribulation martyrs are resurrected, and thrones of judgment are established (Revelation 20:1–4).

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

At the end of Christ’s thousand-year reign on earth, Satan is released from the bottomless pit. He is not paroled or put on probation, but let go. Why? His release is not intended to see whether prison time has reformed him. He is incorrigible. His release is intended to see whether people born during the millennium submitted to Christ’s rule from the heart or simply because they had to submit. Did they experience a new birth or not?

The millennium is a period of peace and plenty, but these factors are insufficient to cause people to love and obey Christ. A perfect environment does not guarantee a perfect relationship with God. Adam and Eve lived in a perfect environment but they sinned. Even with Satan in prison for a thousand years the human heart is deceitful and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9), so human beings are capable of rebelling against God. The following verses of chapter 20 make this fact abundantly clear.

In point of fact, this lesson is probably why God chooses to release Satan. Much of what happens in the end times is meant to prove that God’s judgment is well-deserved. No matter how much proof, evidence, or experience people are given, some will never submit to God. Those who reject Christ have no excuse (Romans 1:18–20).

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

A thousand years in the bottomless pit does not change Satan’s character or attitude one bit. As soon as he is released, he resumes his intense opposition to God and God’s people. Further, a thousand years of living in righteous, prosperous, Christ-ruled conditions does nothing to change the unbelievers’ willful rejection of Christ. The presence of Jesus on earth is a special blessing, but the unregenerate human heart prefers evil to good.

When Jesus was on earth the first time, He came to His own and was rejected (John 1:11). John 3:19 explains: “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.” After his release from prison Satan deceives the nations in all regions of the world. He is a master of deceit, as was demonstrated by his deception of multitudes by his puppet, the False Prophet (Revelation 13:14). He gathers the rebellious multitudes together to engage in history’s final battle.

Verse 9. And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and consumed them,

In prior verses, Satan was bound for a thousand years prior to being released. The point of this release seems to be to prove an important point. Namely, that those who reject God do so out of stubbornness and pride—not a lack of information or evidence. Even after ten centuries of peace and righteousness, people will still choose to rebel against God.

Satan’s duped followers march to the camp of the saints, which is most likely Jerusalem. It is called “the beloved city” because God set His love there in a special way. When Jerusalem rejected Jesus during His first visit to earth, Jesus cried out to the city in a display of His love: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem…How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing” (Matthew 23:37). The fact that Jerusalem is the object of God’s love might be sufficient reason for Satan’s assault on her, but there is another reason. During the millennial reign of Christ, Jerusalem serves as His capital. Isaiah 2:2–3 prophesies that during the millennium all nations shall flow to the house of the Lord in Jerusalem and the Word of the Lord shall proceed from Jerusalem. The Devil’s massive assault on Jerusalem fails, because fire comes down from heaven and consumes the assailants.

Verse 10. and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Jesus spoke about everlasting fire as prepared for the Devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). The Devil’s punishment, therefore, is part of God’s eternal plan. It is not an idea that originates after the Devil’s final battle against God. The scheming, deceiving enemy of God and God’s people finds an eternal dwelling in the lake of fire, where the Antichrist and the False Prophet have been for a thousand years (Revelation 19:20). Together, the Antichrist, the False Prophet, and the Devil will suffer torment forever.

Some individuals believe hell is a condition of suffering in this life, but this is not how the Bible describes it. Jesus told a story about a rich man who died and went to Hades. In that dreadful place of conscious suffering, the rich man cried out, saying, “I am in anguish in this flame” (Luke 16:24).

Hell is a place that awaits future occupants. The concept of real, unending suffering in the lake of fire does not meet with some people’s understanding of God’s character. Because God is loving, they assume He would never send anyone to a place of unending torment. Their reasoning is unbiblical and contradicts what we read in this verse. God’s holiness, righteousness, and justice are just as real as His love, and they have as much to do with our eternity as well.

Verse 11. Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them.

The throne mentioned in this verse is not the same one mentioned in Revelation 4. That throne was surrounded by a rainbow, symbolic of mercy and everlasting life. Here, John sees a white throne, symbolic of the purity of the One who sits on it. Our Savior and Lord sits on this kind of throne because it is the seat of judgment. Acts 17:31 predicts a coming time of judgment “by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” This “man” must be Jesus, whom God raised from the dead.

The presence of the Judge on the great white throne causes the earth and sky to flee away. Perhaps the judgment takes place somewhere in outer space, and while it convenes, earth and sky pass away (2 Peter 3:10–13). Bible teachers are divided in their speculation of whether the earth and the heavens will be destroyed or renovated. The word describing the “new” heaven and earth in Revelation 21:1 indicates freshness and might suggest a renovated heaven and earth.

The events described here serve to remind us that God is not “only” loving and merciful, He is also holy, pure, and righteous. Every single sin, of every size and type, must be judged and punished—either through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, or an eternity in hell (John 3:16–18; Romans 6:23).

Context Summary
Revelation 20:11–15 occurs just after the end of the kingdom reign of Christ on earth, when Satan was released for a brief time. He gathered rebel forces together to battle God and His saints, but lost and was cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:7–10). The next event described by John is the judgment at the great white throne. This is the point where unbelievers are judged according to their actions—a death sentence for everyone not saved through Christ (Romans 6:23). Chapter 21 describes the descent of the New Jerusalem from heaven and the beginning of the eternal age.

Verse 12. And I saw the dead, great and 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 by what was written in the books, according to what they had done.

Standing before the great white throne are the resurrected dead who were not saved—those who did not accept Christ during life (John 3:36). These doomed individuals represent all classes of human beings, from paupers to princes. They are being judged by the Faithful and True Judge, who died to provide a way of escape from sin and eternal punishment (John 3:16–18). Those assembled at the great white throne rejected Jesus’ redemptive work and His gracious invitation to believe on Him and have everlasting life (John 6:37). As a result, rather than being judged on the basis of Christ’s work, they face the record of their sins when the books are opened. The record shows they sinned and failed to repent.

At the same time, another book is opened, which is the book of life. As verse 15 points out, the doomed are sentenced to eternal punishment because their names are not written in the book of life. Being judged “by what was written in the books, according to what they had done” may imply there are degrees of punishment in hell, but the absence of a defendant’s name from the Lamb’s book of life is the determining factor in his or her consignment to hell.

Verse 13. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done.

According to this verse, the sea gave up the dead that were in it. The wicked who perished in the oceanic waters receive resurrected bodies to appear before the great white throne judgment. This number includes those who perished at sea, even those who died under the second trumpet judgment and the second bowl judgment. Death and Hades also give up their dead. The bodies of all the wicked who died and went into conscious punishment are raised to appear before the great white throne. This verse helps remind us that the state of a person’s physical body after death has nothing to do with their eternal destiny. God can re-assemble and resurrect a person whether their body was buried, cast into the sea, cremated, or mummified.

Hades is a term often used for the abode of the dead in general, and in certain contexts is specifically implied to be the realm of the wicked.. In the Old Testament, it was called Sheol, and used in a very general sense. This contrasts with “paradise,” or “Abraham’s Bosom,” which many interpret as a separated “compartment” within Sheol / Hades, and the temporary waiting place for those of faith (Luke 16:19–23). Neither Sheol nor Hades is the eternal abode of any person; only the lake of fire has that distinction for unbelievers. Once again, we learn that the wicked are judged according to what they had done (Romans 6:23). No one at the great white throne judgment can plead innocent because their record is written in the books (John 3:36; Revelation 20:12).

Verse 14. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.

What’s described in verses 14 and 15 is nothing less than the final, complete accomplishment of total victory over sin. The judgment is complete. Now Death and Hades are cast into the lake of fire. Unbelievers spend their lives following the will of the Devil. Ephesians 2:1–3 reminds Christians that prior to salvation they were dead in trespasses and sins. Sins characterized their lives, and they followed Satan, the prince of the power of the air. Also, they lived in the passions of the sin nature and were the children of wrath. However, in a remarkable act of love, God showed mercy and saved by grace, turning their wicked lifestyle into a beautiful life style (Ephesians 2:4–10).

This verse in Revelation calls the lake of fire “the second death.” The first death is physical. Upon death, the soul is separated from the body, and the unbeliever continues to be separated from God. At the second death, the resurrected body is joined to the soul and both are separated from God for all eternity. At this point in time, all sin and evil has been judged and punished: either in hell or by the sacrificial blood of Christ (John 3:16–18).

Verse 15. And if anyone ‘s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.

It is clear from this verse that only the presence of a person’s name in the Lamb’s book of life keeps them from being cast into the lake of fire. God keeps accurate records. All who have trusted in Jesus as Savior have their names written in the book of life (John 6:37; Philippians 4:3). Hebrews 12:23 refers to “the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven.” John 1:12 promises that whoever believes in the name of Jesus receives the right to become a child of God.

John 3:36 distinguishes between those who believe in the Son of God and those who do not obey Him. The former have eternal life; the latter languish under the wrath of God. In his first letter John assured his readers that “whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life” (1 John 5:12). The difference between spending eternity in heaven or spending it in the lake of fire comes down to the question: “Is the Son of God in my life or not?”

As this chapter closes, the victory over sin and evil is complete. Every single wrongdoing, crime, or hurt will have been punished. For those who accepted Christ’s sacrifice on their behalf, His blood brings them forgiveness (John 3:16–18). For those who reject Him, their own sins result in eternal damnation (Romans 6:23).

End of Chapter 20.

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