Revelation 20:4-15

Revelation 20:1 And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and cast him into the abyss, and shut it, and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years should be finished: after this he must be loosed for a little time.

John observes that the purpose of the binding and imprisonment of the dragon is “that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were ended”. That deceiving is inherent to the dragon’s nature is clear from 12:9, which has already been alluded to in 20:2 and which characterizes the dragon as the deceiver of the whole world.

The clear implication is that when the 1,000 years are over, the dragon will deceive the nations, which is precisely what happens in 20:7.

How long is the “little while” that follows the 1,000 years? Why is the length 1,000 years in the first place? Those who ponder these questions is aware that every other use of “must”  in the book refers to the perspective of God

John may well be drawing upon Isa 24:21–22: “On that day the LORD of heaven will punish the host of heaven, in heaven, and the kings of the earth, on the earth. They will be gathered together as prisoners in a pit; they will be shut up in a prison, and after many days they will be punished.”

It is important to recognize that a good portion of 20:1–10 is John’s commentary. Certainly one thing John does not experience, nor is he told about the 1,000 years. It is possible that John’s source is Ps 90:4: “For a thousand years in thy sight/are but as yesterday when it is past.” This passage is alluded to in both Jubilees 4:30 and 2 Pet 3:8.

4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as worshipped not the beast, neither his image, and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

The second scene begins with John seeing two things: thrones and “the souls of those who had been beheaded”. Although John has spoken of God’s “throne” (3:22 and frequently), Jesus’ “throne” (3:22), and even the “throne” of the Satan (2:13; cf. 13:2), only once has he spoken of “thrones” in the plural:

The entire verse draws upon Dan 7, a passage that has influenced John over and over again. The first part reflects Dan 7:9, where Daniel speaks of seeing “thrones” that “were placed.” Later Daniel observes that “the court shall sit in judgment” (Dan 7:26), presumably upon those thrones. The second part echoes the end of Dan 7:21–22, a most important passage for John: “As I looked, this horn made war with the saints, and prevailed over them, until the Ancient of Days came, and judgment was given for the saints of the Most High, and the time came when the saints received the kingdom.”

John has already drawn upon Dan 7:21 at two key junctures in the book: in 11:7, where the beast makes war with the two witnesses and conquers and kills them, and in 13:7, where the beast makes war on the saints and conquers them. But up until now John has not completed the story told in Dan 7:21–22.

Now he does. The saints are not defeated at all. God renders judgment on their behalf and gives them the kingdom, complete with thrones for them to sit upon and with judicial power to exercise. Indeed, 20:4 directs the reader back to 2:26–27, where Jesus promises to share his power over the nations with the conqueror, and to 3:21, where he promises to let the conqueror share his throne.

“Judgment” has been used twice previously in the book, both times with reference to the judgment of the great prostitute Babylon (17:1; 18:20), who spilled the blood of the saints. The irony is clear: those who seemed to have been “judged” by Babylon will now sit in judgment alongside the Lamb and God.

John also sees “the souls of those who had been beheaded”.

The emphasis in the book on allegiance to the Lamb (rather than to the emperor), which is repeated in this verse, reaches its graphic climax here: the followers of the Lamb who are “slain” might even be Roman citizens! The ones who are seated upon the thrones, the beheaded souls, are therefore none other than the souls under the altar who had cried out for vengeance.

the “beheaded” come to life and reign with Christ “for a thousand years”, the length of time during which the dragon is bound (20:2

5 The rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years should be finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: over these the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.

John now introduces a parenthetical statement concerning the “rest of the dead.” In contrast to the “beheaded,” who came to life at the beginning of the 1,000 years, “the rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended”

After the parenthesis John returns to the “beheaded.” He calls their coming to life “the first resurrection, an expression that will be repeated in 20:6. Nowhere else in the book is there any mention of a “second” (or any other) resurrection,

John goes on to explain why such people are blessed and holy: “over such the second death has no power”. Later the second death will be explicitly identified as the lake of fire (20:14; 21:8).

One of the promises to the conqueror is that he shall not be hurt by the second death (2:11). The

Finally, John contrasts the second death having no authority over these blessed and holy ones with two final observations about them. First, “they shall be priests of God and of Christ”. Isa 61:6). “Priest” has been used twice in the book, both times as a description for Christians ( 1:6; 5:10). In both passages the verb used  that shows Christians have already been made priests.

One final question about the “beheaded” remains: are they literal martyrs? The reader who insists on interpreting Revelation “literally” has no choice but to say that the only people who experience the benefits of the first resurrection are those who have been literally “beheaded

The very specificity of “beheaded” is an indication that John does not intend for the reader to take the expression literally. It is precisely the recognition that the “beheaded” in 20:4–6 are really all Christians that vitiates the martyr motif elsewhere.

7 And when the thousand years are finished, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8 and shall come forth to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to the war: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.

John no longer restricts Gog and Magog to the north, but rather identifies them with the nations “at the four corners of the earth.”

9 And they went up over the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down out of heaven, and devoured them.

John echoes Habakkuk, who speaks of the Babylonian armies marching over the broad earth

The beloved city, as the Church as opposed to  a physical Jerusalem is the only understanding that makes sense in the book.

10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where are also the beast and the false prophet; and they shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Finally, John comes to the real point of the scene: Satan is thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur. John ensures that the reader makes the connection with 19:20 by adding the phrase “where the beast and the false prophet. Hence, the judgments of Satan and of the beast and the false prophet are not necessarily connected chronologically.

What John does affirm is the certainty that Satan receives the same judgment as the beast and the false prophet.

The verb “torment” suggests a conscious punishment elsewhere in the book  9:5; 11:10; 12:2. The one who would accuse Christians “day and night” (12:10) will find himself tormented “day and night,” in stark contrast to those who have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb, who will serve God in his temple “day and night” (7:15; 4:8).

The primary non-human enemies of God and of the Church, Babylon, the beast and the false prophet, and the dragon, have all been destroyed. It is finally time for the Judgment to be rendered in the heavenly Throne Hall, an event anticipated since chapter 4. Drawing once again on Daniel 7, John records his vision of a great white throne and describes the judgment that takes place there.

11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.

John sees “a great white throne and him who sat upon it”. Apart from the mention of the details “great” and “white,” the language is similar to 4:2, the first mention in the book of a throne with someone seated on it  7:15. There is no reason to believe this is a different throne; the additional details simply heighten

Recall the sixth seal, where startling natural phenomena strike the sky and the earth and terrified people long to hide from the “face” of the one who is seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb (6:12–17). John notes that no place was found for earth and sky 12:8; Dan 2:35. The Day of Judgment, anticipated in 6:17 as “the great day of their [God’s and the Lamb’s] wrath” has come, and there is nowhere to hide. All must stand before the throne.

12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne; and books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead that were in it; and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, even the lake of fire. 15 And if any was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire.

John witnesses the judgment itself. He describes those being judged in three ways. First, they are “the dead”. Five of the eight references to “the dead” in the book occur in this chapter, four of them in this scene. The reader remembers that in 11:18 the twenty-four elders say the time has come for judging “the dead” and that in 20:5 John notes that the rest of “the dead” did not come to life until the 1.000 years were completed.

It is the time for judgment. The 1,000 years have passed. But how can “the dead” be gathered before the throne at all? The answer is given in 20:13: the sea and Death and Hades “gave up the dead in them.” Death and Hades have been juxtaposed previously in 1:18 and 6:8. The sea is probably singled out because those who die at sea do not receive proper burials.

Although John does not designate it as such, he probably understands this to be the “second” resurrection . Certainly the idea of a general resurrection of the dead at the Day of Judgment is found in both Judaism and early Christianity, Dan 12:2; 1 Enoch 51:1; Pseudo-Philo 3:10; John 5:28–29). What is surprising is not that the dead

This passage makes it clear that all must stand before them, even if they will stand only briefly before receiving their punishment (20:15). The second passage is 7:9, where John sees the Great Multitude “standing” before the throne.

John also describes the manner in which the judgment is carried out. In typical Jewish fashion John observes that the dead are being judged “by what they had done”. John notes that their deeds have been written in books, that are now opened, presumably by God. The whole scene is strongly reminiscent of Dan 7:9–10 LXX, where the Ancient of Days takes his seat upon his throne: “the court sat in judgment and the books were opened.

Not only are the dead judged according to their deeds but also according to whether or not their names are found in the book of life. In fact, it is only the latter that is mentioned explicitly in connection with the punishment the dead receive. At last the book of life, the scroll in the hand of the one seated upon the throne in 5:1, that was transferred to the Lamb in 5:7, whose seals were broken in 6:1–17 and 8:1—is open!

Once again, John’s focus is on the final result: Death and Hades “were thrown into the lake of fire”. Similarly, “if any one’s name was not found in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (14:10; 21:8). John’s identification of the lake of fire with the second death brings together the two main symbols he has used previously to characterize judgment.

With its startling basis of two criteria for judgment, the final judgment scene ultimately permits the reader to solve some of the most basic questions that have been left unanswered to this point in the book. In Judaism the dead are judged according to their deeds. This remains true in this book, to a point. Since the dead are judged according to their deeds, and since their deeds are necessarily lacking because they follow the beast (13:3, 8), then the Day of Judgment is something of which people are terrified (6:15–16).

Who can stand before the One who sits upon the throne at the judgment (6:17)? No one. All will be punished. The books recording their deeds do not lie. All will be raised from the dead to stand before the Judge (20:12–13), where Satan will fulfill his role by accusing them (12:10). All who follow the beast will share his fate (19:20; 20:14). But the Judge also has another book (5:1): the book of life.

Those whose names are written in it will not share the fate of the beast and his followers (20:15). Why? Because the Lamb, who was slain, has received the book of life from the Judge (5:7). Hence, it is now the Lamb’s book of life (13:8; 21:27). He and he alone has the right to receive the book of life (5:2–5) because by his death he has ransomed people for God (5:6–

He and he alone has the right to receive the book of life (5:2–5) because by his death he has ransomed people for God (5:6–10)—i.e., he has delivered them from the destruction that awaits the rest of humanity. These people and these alone are able to stand before the Judge (7:9) because they have received the benefits of the Lamb’s death (7:14).