Revelation 20 KJV
The Thousand Years
Revelation Chapter 20: The Thousand Years
The binding of Satan with a key and great chain in verse 2 echoes the imprisonment of rebellious celestial beings in Isaiah 24:21-22, framing the millennium as a temporary restraint on cosmic powers rather than their final defeat.
1nd I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,
3 And 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.
4 And 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.
5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
6 Blessed 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.
7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
8 And 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.
9 And 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.
10 And 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.
11 And 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.
12 And 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.
13 And 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.
14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
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Did You Know?
The binding of Satan with a key and great chain in verse 2 echoes the imprisonment of rebellious celestial beings in Isaiah 24:21-22, framing the millennium as a temporary restraint on cosmic powers rather than their final defeat.
The phrase 'the rest of the dead' in verse 5 creates a deliberate narrative gap between the first resurrection and the general resurrection, underscoring a theological distinction that later fueled debates over the timing and nature of bodily resurrection in early church fathers like Justin Martyr.
Gog and Magog's post-millennial deception in verse 8 reuses Ezekiel 38-39's motifs but relocates them after Christ's reign, inverting the prophet's sequence to portray evil as ultimately undeterred by even a golden age of peace.
The great white throne judgment uniquely depicts both the sea and Hades surrendering their dead in verse 13, emphasizing a total cosmic accounting that includes those lost at sea, a detail resonant with ancient fears of unburied souls wandering without rest.
Verse 4's mention of judgment being given to the beheaded martyrs directly fulfills the cry of the souls under the altar in Revelation 6:9-11, completing an inclusio that ties the millennium to the vindication of persecuted witnesses.
Commentary & Study Notes Jamieson-Fausset-Brown (1871) ยท Public Domain The destruction of his representatives, the beast and the false prophet, to whom he had given his power, throne, and authority, is followed by the binding of Satan himself for a thโฆ
Classic verse-by-verse commentary on Revelation 20 from Jamieson, Fausset & Brown (1871). Covers: Satan bound, and the first-risen saints reign with Christ, a thousand years; Satan loosed, gathers the nations, gog and magog, round the camp of the saints, and is finally consigned to the lake of fire; The general resurrection and last judgment.
- 1
- The destruction of his representatives, the beast and the false prophet, to whom he had given his power, throne, and authority, is followed by the binding of Satan himself for a thousand years. the key of the bottomless pit โ now transferred from Satan's hands, who had heretofore been permitted by God to use it in letting loose plagues on the earth; he is now to be made to feel himself the torment which he had inflicted on men, but his full torment is not until he is cast into "the lake of fire" (Re 20:10).
- 2
- that old โ ancient serpent (Re 12:9). thousand years โ As seven mystically implies universality, so a thousand implies perfection, whether in good or evil [AQUINAS on ch. 11]. Thousand symbolizes that the world is perfectly leavened and pervaded by the divine; since thousand is ten, the number of the world, raised to the third power, three being the number of God [AUBERLEN]. It may denote literally also a thousand years.
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