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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.

Satan Bound 1,000 Years

20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, (A)having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. He laid hold of (B)the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and (C)set a seal on him, (D)so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.

The Saints Reign with Christ 1,000 Years

And I saw (E)thrones, and they sat on them, and (F)judgment was committed to them. Then I saw (G)the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, (H)who had not worshiped the beast (I)or his image, and had not received his mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they (J)lived and (K)reigned with Christ for [a]a thousand years. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such (L)the second death has no power, but they shall be (M)priests of God and of Christ, (N)and shall reign with Him a thousand years.

Satanic Rebellion Crushed(O)

Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out (P)to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, (Q)Gog and Magog, (R)to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. (S)They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. 10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone (T)where[b] the beast and the false prophet are. And they (U)will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

The Great White Throne Judgment

11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face (V)the earth and the heaven fled away. (W)And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, (X)small and great, standing before [c]God, (Y)and books were opened. And another (Z)book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged (AA)according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, (AB)and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. (AC)And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then (AD)Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. (AE)This is the second [d]death. 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life (AF)was cast into the lake of fire.

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 20:4 M the
  2. Revelation 20:10 NU, M where also
  3. Revelation 20:12 NU, M the throne
  4. Revelation 20:14 NU, M death, the lake of fire.

Satan Bound

20 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven holding the key to the abyss(A) and a great chain(B) in his hand. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan,[a](C) and bound(D) him for a thousand years. He threw him into the abyss, closed it, and put a seal on it(E) so that he would no longer deceive the nations(F) until the thousand years were completed. After that, he must be released for a short time.

The Saints Reign with Christ

Then I saw thrones, and people seated on them who were given authority to judge.(G) I also saw the souls of those(H) who had been beheaded because of their testimony about Jesus(I) and because of the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and who had not accepted the mark on their foreheads or their hands.(J) They came to life(K) and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.(L) The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed.

This is the first resurrection. Blessed(M) and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! The second death(N) has no power[b] over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years.(O)

Satanic Rebellion Crushed

When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations(P) at the four corners of the earth,(Q) Gog and Magog, to gather them for battle.(R) Their number is like the sand of the sea.(S) They came up across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the encampment of the saints, the beloved city.(T) Then fire came down from heaven[c] and consumed them.(U) 10 The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet are,(V) and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.(W)

The Great White Throne Judgment

11 Then I saw a great white throne and one seated on it. Earth and heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them.(X) 12 I also saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and books were opened.(Y) Another book was opened, which is the book of life,(Z) and the dead were judged according to their works(AA) by what was written in the books. 13 Then the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades(AB) gave up the dead that were in them; each one was judged according to their works. 14 Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire.(AC) This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15 And anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Footnotes

  1. 20:2 Other mss add who deceives the whole world
  2. 20:6 Or authority
  3. 20:9 Other mss add from God

The Thousand Years

20 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven,(A) having the key(B) to the Abyss(C) and holding in his hand a great chain. He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan,(D) and bound him for a thousand years.(E) He threw him into the Abyss,(F) and locked and sealed(G) it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations(H) anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time.

I saw thrones(I) on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge.(J) And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded(K) because of their testimony about Jesus(L) and because of the word of God.(M) They[a] had not worshiped the beast(N) or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands.(O) They came to life and reigned(P) with Christ a thousand years. (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection.(Q) Blessed(R) and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death(S) has no power over them, but they will be priests(T) of God and of Christ and will reign with him(U) for a thousand years.

The Judgment of Satan

When the thousand years are over,(V) Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations(W) in the four corners of the earth(X)—Gog and Magog(Y)—and to gather them for battle.(Z) In number they are like the sand on the seashore.(AA) They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded(AB) the camp of God’s people, the city he loves.(AC) But fire came down from heaven(AD) and devoured them. 10 And the devil, who deceived them,(AE) was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur,(AF) where the beast(AG) and the false prophet(AH) had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.(AI)

The Judgment of the Dead

11 Then I saw a great white throne(AJ) and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence,(AK) and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small,(AL) standing before the throne, and books were opened.(AM) Another book was opened, which is the book of life.(AN) The dead were judged(AO) according to what they had done(AP) as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades(AQ) gave up the dead(AR) that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done.(AS) 14 Then death(AT) and Hades(AU) were thrown into the lake of fire.(AV) The lake of fire is the second death.(AW) 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life(AX) was thrown into the lake of fire.

Footnotes

  1. Revelation 20:4 Or God; I also saw those who

The Thousand Years

20 I saw an angel come down from heaven, carrying the key to the deep pit and a big chain. (A) He chained the dragon for 1,000 years. It is that old snake, who is also known as the devil and Satan. Then the angel threw the dragon into the pit. He locked and sealed it, so 1,000 years would go by before the dragon could fool the nations again. But after that, it would have to be set free for a little while.

(B) I saw thrones, and sitting on those thrones were the ones who had been given the right to judge. I also saw the souls of the people who had their heads cut off because they had told about Jesus and preached God's message. They were the same ones who had not worshiped the beast or the idol, and they had refused to let its mark be put on their foreheads or hands. They will come to life and rule with Christ for 1,000 years.

5-6 These people are the first to be raised to life, and they are especially blessed and holy. The second death[a] has no power over them. They will be priests for God and Christ and will rule with them for 1,000 years.

No other dead people were raised to life until 1,000 years later.

Satan Is Defeated

At the end of the 1,000 years, Satan will be set free. (C) He will fool the countries of Gog and Magog, which are at the far ends of the earth, and their people will follow him into battle. They will have as many followers as there are grains of sand along the beach, and they will march all the way across the earth. They will surround the camp of God's people and the city God loves. But fire will come down from heaven and destroy the whole army. 10 Then the devil who fooled them will be thrown into the lake of fire and burning sulfur. He will be there with the beast and the false prophet, and they will be in pain day and night forever and ever.

The Judgment at the Great White Throne

11 (D) I saw a great white throne with someone sitting on it. Earth and heaven tried to run away, but there was no place for them to go. 12 (E) I also saw all the dead people standing in front of that throne. Every one of them was there, no matter who they had once been. Several books were opened, and then the book of life[b] was opened. The dead were judged by what those books said they had done.

13 The sea gave up the dead people who were in it, and death and its kingdom also gave up their dead. Then everyone was judged by what they had done. 14 Afterwards, death and its kingdom were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death.[c] 15 Anyone whose name wasn't written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.

Footnotes

  1. 20.5,6 second death: See the note at 2.11.
  2. 20.12 book of life: See the note at 3.5.
  3. 20.14 second death: See the note at 2.11.