Please forgive this rough draft format, as these are my raw study notes. I felt a great sense of urgency to publish them rather than waiting until I had the time to pretty them up. Thank you and I pray that God blesses you through this material.
Stacey
Take a few minutes to savor Revelation Chapter 20. Then return here and ponder the thoughts, answer the questions, and be sure to leave comments about your own revelations.
20:1-6 – The 1000 years – Satan is locked in the Abyss and the first resurrection takes place.
20:1 — "an angel" — a mighty angel is not needed to subdue Satan and lock him away.
20:4 — "thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge" — are these the elders described earlier? In 19:4, the elders are mentioned again, so this is probably a different group of people. See Matthew 19:28 — it's the apostles!
How would you react if you were John and saw this?
"the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony for Jesus and because of the word of God." - see 6:11 "the number of their fellow servants and brothers who were to be killed as they had been was completed"
“They had not…received his mark on their foreheads…” See Revelation 22:4 – “They will see His face and His name will be on their foreheads.” Beth Moore put it beautifully when she said that it was no wonder they didn’t take the mark. This space was already reserved for Christ.
These are the people who will reign with Christ for 1000 years. See Daniel 7:9, 22, 27 (AMP)
20:5 – “(The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.)” – “Either the wicked or everyone except the martyrs. (see v.4)” (NIVSB) So the rapture takes place after this?
See 20:13 — the sea gave up the dead..
Over whom will they reign? See Matthew 25:31-46. The time has come for the judgment of the nations. Its purpose is to determine who will be allowed to enter the kingdom based on their treatment of the Jews. (NIVSB)
20:6 — the second death — See verse 14. "the lake of fire is the second death."
20:8 – God and Magog — see Ezekiel 38. (Eerdmans' Concise Bible Handbook)
see Genesis 3:1-7 for a picture of how Satan deceives.
In number, they are like the sand on the seashore — apparently, Satan deceives a lot of people. The sheep from the judgment of nations? Or their offspring? Probably their offspring — see verse 6. "the second death has no power over them..."
See Ezekiel 38:2,9,15,22 (AMP)
20:9 — when they surround the camp of God's people, fire (Fire — pyr — fire, flames (Strong's 4442/KWSB 4786)) comes from heaven and devours them. WOW! No battle is fought. (See Ezekiel 38:22; 39:6; Revelation 13:13)
What do you think the fire represents? Does this appear to represent judgment due to sin? Can you see the fire destroy what has been corrupted by sin?
See 2 Kings 1:10-12; Ezekiel 38:2, 22 (AMP)
20:10 — Satan makes his final appearance as he joins the beast and false prophet in the lake of burning sulfur (Fire — pyr — fire, flames (Strong's 4442/KWSB 4786)) for eternal torment. (See Revelation 9:17)
What do you think the fire represents? Does this appear to represent judgment due to sin? Can you see the fire destroy what has been corrupted by sin?
20:11-15 — The Great White Throne Judgment - only those whose names are not written in the book of life are judged by what they've done. Believers' works are judged at the Bema Judgment for the purpose of receiving rewards. Verse 12 says the books were opened, then another book was opened, then they were judged by what was written in the books. Perhaps the book of life was opened to see if the individual would not be subject to the judgment based on deeds, then the other book (recording deeds) was used if the person's name didn't appear in the book of life. God certainly doesn't need a book to know who goes where! This must be for those who will argue with Him when they receive the news that they have no place in the eternal kingdom!
20:11 — him who was seated on it — this is Jesus. See Acts 17:30-31 and John 5:22.
earth and sky fled from his presence — see Revelation 6:14 and Isaiah 34:4.
20:12 — books were opened: God's book of Life — see Exodus 32:32-33, Psalm 69:28, Daniel 12:1-2, Philippians 4:3, Revelation 3:5, 20:12, 15; Lamb's book of Life—see Revelation 13:8, 21:27; book of law—see Deuteronomy 31:26, Joshua 1:8, 2 Kings 22:8-13, 23:1-3, Galatians 3:10; Books of Deeds — Matthew 16:27, Revelation 20:12-13; Books of Conscience — Romans 2:14-16; Books of Words — Matthew 12:36-37; Book of Secret Words — Romans 2:16; Deeds and Hidden Things — Ecclesiastes 12:14; Scroll of Remembrance — Malachi 3:16.
these are the unrighteous dead.
20:13 — see 20:5 — "The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended." — These are the rest of the dead.
20:14 — death and Hades are thrown into the lake of burning sulfur (Fire — pyr — fire, flames (Strong's 4442/KWSB 4786)). (See Revelation 19:20)
What do you think the fire represents? Does this appear to represent judgment due to sin? Can you see the fire destroy what has been corrupted by sin?
20:15 — anyone whose name is not found in the book of life is thrown into the lake of burning sulfur (Fire — pyr — fire, flames (Strong's 4442/KWSB 4786)).
What do you think the fire represents? Does this appear to represent judgment due to sin? Can you see the fire destroy what has been corrupted by sin?
Book of Life — I believe Revelation 22:19 refers to the prophecy of Revelation, not the Book of Life.
- Remember that the main message of the book of Revelation is the infinite love, power and justice of the Lord Jesus Christ. How is this evident in today’s text?
- What attributes of God do you see in this chapter?
- What scripture seemed to be God speaking directly to you? What is He teaching you in these verses? How does He want you to respond?
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