Revelation 20
Disciples’ Literal New Testament
The Thousand Years: Satan Is Bound
20 And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the abyss, and a great chain on his hand. 2 And he seized the dragon— the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan[a]— and bound him for a thousand[b] years. 3 And he threw him into the abyss, and shut and sealed it over him in order that he might not deceive the nations anymore until the thousand years are finished. After these things he must be released for a short time.
The Thousand Years: Saints Reign With Christ
4 And I saw thrones— and they[c] sat-down on them, and judgment[d] was given to them— and the souls of the ones having been beheaded[e] because of the testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and[f] they who did not worship the beast nor his image, and did not receive the mark upon the forehead and upon their hand. And they came-to-life[g] and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5 The rest of the dead did not come-to-life until the thousand years were finished. This is the first[h] resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one having a part in the first resurrection. The second death does not have authority over these, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with Him for the thousand years.
The End of The Thousand Years: Satan Is Defeated Forever
7 And when the thousand years are finished, Satan will be released from his prison. 8 And he will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth— Gog and Magog— to gather them together for the battle, whose number is like the sand of the sea. 9 And they went-up over the breadth[i] of the earth, and surrounded[j] the camp[k] of the saints and[l] the city having been loved. And fire came down from heaven and devoured them. 10 And the devil, the one deceiving them, was thrown into the lake of fire and sulphur— where both[m] the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented by day and by night forever and ever.
Vision 6: The Great White Throne Judgment
11 And I saw a great white throne, and the One sitting on it, from Whose presence the earth fled, and the heaven, and a place was not found for them. 12 And I saw the dead[n]— the great and the small— standing before the throne. And books[o] were opened. And another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged from the things having been written in the books, according-to[p] their works. 13 And the sea gave the dead in it, and death and Hades gave the dead in them, and they were judged— each one— according-to their works. 14 And death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death— the lake of fire. 15 And if anyone was not found having been written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.
Footnotes
- Revelation 20:2 These four names are also in 12:9.
- Revelation 20:2 Some think 20:1-10 continues on in time from 19:21, describing a thousand year period after Christ’s return. Others think 20:1-10 gives another overview of the time between the two comings of Christ.
- Revelation 20:4 That is, Christ and His army, 19:19, the souls named next being a subgroup of them. Or, this may anticipate the souls John speaks of next.
- Revelation 20:4 That is, authority to judge and the work of judging.
- Revelation 20:4 That is, executed.
- Revelation 20:4 Or, even. This is either describing a second group who were not beheaded, or giving further details about the beheaded group.
- Revelation 20:4 Or, lived, became alive. This can refer to resurrection life or to spiritual life with God.
- Revelation 20:5 The second may be the physical resurrection of a different group; or, the physical resurrection of this same group raised spiritually to God here.
- Revelation 20:9 Or, width.
- Revelation 20:9 Or, encircled.
- Revelation 20:9 This word can have a general or a military sense here.
- Revelation 20:9 Or, even.
- Revelation 20:10 Or, also.
- Revelation 20:12 That is, the whole human race (this is the final and only judgment); or, ‘the rest’ in v 5 (this is the final phase of judgment).
- Revelation 20:12 That is, books of deeds or works.
- Revelation 20:12 Or, based-on.
Revelation 20
English Standard Version
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. 2 And he seized (C)the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and (D)bound him for a thousand years, 3 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.
4 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. 5 The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. 6 (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
7 And when the thousand years are ended, (R)Satan will be released from his prison 8 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. 9 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
- Revelation 20:1 Greek the abyss; also verse 3
- Revelation 20:9 Some manuscripts from God, out of heaven, or out of heaven from God
Revelation 20
New King James Version
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. 2 He laid hold of (B)the dragon, that serpent of old, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 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
4 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. 5 But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 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)
7 Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison 8 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. 9 (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
- Revelation 20:4 M the
- Revelation 20:10 NU, M where also
- Revelation 20:12 NU, M the throne
- Revelation 20:14 NU, M death, the lake of fire.
Disciples' Literal New Testament: Serving Modern Disciples by More Fully Reflecting the Writing Style of the Ancient Disciples, Copyright © 2011 Michael J. Magill. All Rights Reserved. Published by Reyma Publishing
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.


