REVELATION CHAPTER 20

I) [Rev 20]:
A) [EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 20 INTRODUCTION]:

"Charles has described this passage as a constant source of insurmountable difficulty for the exegete. Berkouwer has called the Millennium one of the most controversial and intriguing questions of eschatology. He feels that one's view of Revelation 20 is internally connected with the rest of one's eschatology (G. C. Berkouwer, The Return of Christ [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1972], p. 291). While the OT and later Jewish literature point forward to a time when the kingdom of God will be manifest in the world, nowhere in Jewish literature is the time of the reign of the Messiah stated to be a thousand years.
The exegesis of the passage leads me to a premillennial interpretation. It should be recognized, however, that there are problems with this view of Revelation 20:1-6 just as there are problems with other views of this difficult portion of the book, and that responsible Christian scholars vary in its interpretation according to their convictions and presuppositions.
For the moment the question of the duration of the reign of Christ (which is equal to the duration of the binding of Satan) may be delayed. The main problem concerns whether the reference to a Millennium indicates an earthly historical reign of peace that will manifest itself at the close of this present age or whether the whole passage is symbolic of some present experience of Christians or some future nonhistorical reality.
In the first place, we may note that the ancient church down to the time of Augustine (354-430) (though not without minor exceptions) unquestionably held to the teaching of an earthly, historical reign of peace that was to follow the defeat of Antichrist and the physical resurrection of the saints but precede both the judgment and the new creation (Jean Danielou, The Theology of Jewish Christianity [Philadelphia: Westminster, 1964]; see note on v. 1). To be sure, in the ancient church there were various positions as to the material nature of the Millennium (see comments at v.4), but the true conception of the thousand years was a balance between the worldly aspects of the kingdom and its spiritual aspects as a reign with Christ.
It is well known that the break with this earlier position came with the views of the late fourth-century interpreter Tyconius, an African Donatist, who, partly dependent on the Alexandrian allegorizing of Origen, developed a view of the Millennium based on a recapitulation method of interpretation. In applying this principle, Tyconius viewed Revelation as containing a number of different visions that repeated basic themes throughout the book. Though Tyconius's original work is not available, his exegesis of the Apocalypse can be largely reconstructed through his prime benefactor, Augustine, as well as Tyconius's many Roman Catholic followers. When he came to chapter 20, he interpreted the thousand years in nonliteral terms and understood the period as referring to the church age, the time between the first and second advents of Christ. Tyconius interpreted the first resurrection as the resurrection of the soul from spiritual death to the new life, while the second resurrection was the resurrection of the body at the end of history. The binding of Satan had already taken place in that the devil cannot seduce the church during the present age. Moreover, the reign of the saints and their "thrones of judgment" had already begun in the church and its rulers. Augustine, following Tyconius, "cast the die against the expectation of a millennial kingdom for centuries to come" (H. Berkhof, Christ the Meaning of History [Grand Rapids: Baker, 1979], p. 161). The recapitulation method adopted by Augustine continued through the centuries and is not without its modern exponents in both the Protestant and Roman Catholic branches of the church. This is the first main option in modern nonmillennial (or amillennial) interpretations of Revelation 20.
Augustine's approach, however, was not to remain unchallenged. Joachim of Floris (c. 1135-1202) saw in the Apocalypse a prophecy of the events of Western history from the time of Christ till the end. He thought the Millennium was still future in his time but soon to begin. The Franciscans, who followed Joachim, identified Babylon with ecclesiastical Rome and the Antichrist with the papacy. The Reformers followed suit. In modern times, Henry Alford (1810-71) adopted this view.
During Reformation times, still another type of interpretation developed, expounded by a Jesuit scholar named Ribeira (1537-91). He held that almost all the events described in the Apocalypse are future and apply to the end times rather than to the history of the world or contemporary Rome and the papacy. He still, however, held to Augustine's view of the Millennium as the period between the first and second advents of Christ. But at one important point he changed Augustine's view. Instead of the Millennium taking place on earth between the advents, Ribeira saw it as taking place in heaven. It is a reward for faithfulness. When the saints at any time in history are martyred, they do not perish but live and reign with Christ in heaven in the intermediate state before the final resurrection. This is the second main option today for nonmillennialists. John's basic message in Revelation 20 is, according to this viewpoint, pastoral. If Christians face the prospect of suffering death for Jesus, they should be encouraged because if they are killed, they will go to reign with him in heaven. This seems to be the drift of Berkouwer's conclusions (The Return of Christ, pp. 314ff. ) and earlier those of B. B. Warfield ("The Millennium and the Apocalypse," PTR, 2 [1904], 599-617).
The Augustinian view of Revelation 20 and its variant espoused by Joachim cannot be harmonized with a serious exegesis of Revelation 20 on two important counts. In the first place, it founders on the statements concerning the binding of Satan (vv. 1-3); and, second, it must handle in an absurd fashion the statements about the coming to life of the martyrs, which cannot be exegetically understood as anything other than physical resurrection without seriously tampering with the sense of the words (cf. discussion on vv. 1-4). While it is popular among certain nonmillennialists to view 20:14 as a symbolic description of the reward to be granted the martyrs on their entrance into heaven (so Beckwith, Berkouwer, Boer, Schnackenburg), this variation of the Augustinian exegesis, while removing the criticism that the passage refers to the present rule of Christ in the church age, fails to deal seriously with the binding of Satan and other details of the text.
There is yet another view that, though not free of problems, does more justice to the Book of Revelation as a whole and to the exegesis of chapter 20 in particular. This view rejects both the Augustinian interpretation that the Millennium is the rule of Christ during this dispensation and the variant of Joachim that locates the resurrection and the reign of the martyrs in heaven for an interim period before their bodily resurrection and the return of Christ. It likewise rejects the variation of Augustine's view known as postmillennialism or evolutionary chiliasm, which teaches that the forces of Antichrist will gradually be put down and the gospel will permeate and transform the world into an interim of the reign of peace before the return of Christ (see note on v. 1 for representatives of this view). Berkouwer justly criticizes this postmillennial view as exegetically and theologically weak. He then goes on to espouse a totally mystical viewpoint of Revelation 20 that fails to grapple exegetically with the text. For him the millennial language is purely a figure of speech to depict the reality of the hidden triumph of Christ (Return of Christ, pp. 208-9). Such a view, however, fails to account for how the reality of the divine kingdom of God has actually invaded history in Jesus Christ.
If eschatological realities are simply mystical, figurative, and pastoral in intent and never impinge on the empirical world, then the Christ event as an eschatological event must likewise be abandoned. Instead, the view espoused in this commentary argues that the Millennium is in history and on the earth as an eschatological reality. Much in the same manner as the kingdom of God was eschatologically present in the life and ministry of Jesus - present, yet still future - so the Millennium is at once the final historical event of this age and the beginning of the eschatological kingdom of Christ in eternity. Oscar Cullmann, one of the principal advocates of this view, states:
The millennium is future and is, so to speak, the very last part of Christ's lordship, which at the same time extends into the new aeon. Consequently, the thousand-year kingdom should be identified neither with the whole chronological extent of Christ's lordship nor with the present Church. That lordship is the larger concept; it has already begun and continues in the aeon for an undefined length of time. The thousand-year reign, on the other hand, belongs temporally to the final act of Christ's lordship, the act which begins with His return and thus already invades the new aeon (The Christology of the New Testament [Philadelphia: Westminster, 1959], p. 226).
This view is called the "end-historical" view. It follows the same chronological sequence as the early church's position, i.e., Parousia - defeat of Antichrist - binding of Satan - resurrection - Millennium - release of Satan - final judgment - new heavens and earth. It differs slightly from earlier chiliasm in viewing the Millennium as an end-historical event that at the same time is the beginning of the eternal reign of Christ and the saints.
The problem as to the limits of the description of the Millennium in Revelation 20-22 is a more difficult question. A group of expositors of varying theological thought (Beasley-Murray, R.H. Charles, Ford, A.C. Gaebelein, Kelly, Zahn) believe that 21:9-22:5, 14-15 belong with 20:1-10 as a further description of the millennial reign, whereas 21:1-5 refers to the eternal state, which follows the final judgment of the dead. This approach is an attempt to harmonize a more literal understanding of certain statements in 21:9ff. with the assumed conditions during the eternal state. For example, according to Beasley-Murray ("The Revelation," p. 1305) the references to nations and kings seem to describe an earthly kingdom better than they describe the eternal condition (21:24, 26); references to leaves "healing" the nations (22:2) seems to describe an imperfect condition better than they describe the perfected eternal state; and, finally, the blessing pronounced on those who come and eat the tree of life while a curse rests on all those outside the city (22:14-15) seems to relate better to the thousand years than to the eternal state when the wicked are in the lake of fire.
Admittedly, this is a possible solution that has the advantage of giving more descriptive content to the millennial reign. This approach, however, suffers from two serious criticisms. First, though it rightly assigns 21:1-5 to the postmillennial New Jerusalem in the context of the new heaven and earth, it arbitrarily assigns 21:9ff. to the millennial New Jerusalem without the slightest hint from the text that this is a recapitulation of 20:1-10. Thus, there is an eternal state New Jerusalem followed immediately by a millennial New Jerusalem, both bearing the same title. This is hardly plausible. Second, this view strongly argues for historical progression in 19:11-21:5; Parousia - defeat of Antichrist
- binding of Satan - first resurrection - Millennium - release of Satan - last judgment - new heavens and earth - and then argues for recapitulation in 21:9ff.
It seems best, therefore, despite some problems, to regard the sequence begun at 19:11 as running chronologically through 22:6, thus placing all the material in 21:1ff. after the Millennium. At this point, a suggestion might be offered for further study. If the Millennium is a true eschatological, historical event like the person, ministry, and resurrection of Jesus, may not 21:1ff. be viewed as the full manifestation of the kingdom of God, a partial manifestation of which will be realized in the thousand-year reign of Christ and the saints, during which Christ will defeat all his enemies, including death (1Cor 15:23-28)? Some of the same conditions described in 21:1ff. would then, at least in part, characterize the Millennium.

[BIBLESTUDYMANUALS]:

"It is evident that if a contrived, unprovable point of view, or one of the many nonsensical epistemological, philosophical, interpretative dictates; or one of the many, illogical unprovable points of view to force a personal interpretation outside of the normal rules of reading via language, context and logic ; or if one of the many falsified theological principles which are not based on a normal reading skill set; or if one of the unproved symbolic, geographical, numerical concepts / insights, etc. is required to be learned and accepted as true in order to understand the Bible - setting aside a normal reading of the words of God's Word; or if it is ruled that one must know the whole Bible in order to understand one verse of the Bible: a logical fallacy / impossibility; then since most people are normative readers who do not espouse to the contrived insights of others; it must be determined that the Bible is not meant for all people of accountable age to read and understand. Hence people must depend upon elite, so called superior individual(s) to lead / teach / instruct them in what the Bible says - like most pastors and church leaders demand - sad to say.

On the other hand, the Bible properly read utilizing the normative rules of reading: i.e., rules of language, context and logic as people are taught in school, it is determined that the Bible does include all individuals of accountable age evidently only needing to study it utilizing normal reading / linguistic skills and nothing else
. Therefore special, contrived, unprovable, flawed insights are NOT required to understand the Bible, because it is the normative rules of language, context and logic which are biblical.

But it is also evident that some of what God has inspired the bible writers to write in His Word for the moment - properly read - is not for the moment comprehensible until such time that God has determined / decreed it to be comprehensible and fulfilled in that timeframe
- properly read without any contrivances. And the so called contrived, unprovable insights or full knowledge requirements in order to determine what each verse is saying are nonsensical and prove out to be untrustworthy when tested via a proper reading.]
A cont.) [EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 20 INTRODUCTION, (cont.)]:
"Finally, why the Millennium? There are at least four answers to this question:
1. During the Millennium, Christ will openly manifest His kingdom in world history; the Millennium will provide an actual demonstration of the truthfulness of the divine witness borne by Christ and His followers during their life on earth. It will be a time of the fulfillment of all God's covenant promises to His people.
2. The Millennium will reveal that man's rebellion against God lies deep in man's own heart, not in the devil's deception. Even when Satan is bound and righteousness prevails in the world, some people will still rebel against God. The final release of Satan will openly draw out this hidden evil.
3. The release of Satan after the Millennium shows the invulnerability of the city of God and the extent of the authority of Christ, since the devil is immediately defeated and cast into the lake of fire forever.
4. The Millennium will serve as a long period required to do the general "housecleaning" needed after the preceding ages of sin, during which sin was prevalent.

[BIBLESTUDYMANUALS]:

"It is evident that if a contrived, unprovable point of view, or one of the many nonsensical epistemological, philosophical, interpretative dictates; or one of the many, illogical unprovable points of view to force a personal interpretation outside of the normal rules of reading via language, context and logic ; or if one of the many falsified theological principles which are not based on a normal reading skill set; or if one of the unproved symbolic, geographical, numerical concepts / insights, etc. is required to be learned and accepted as true in order to understand the Bible - setting aside a normal reading of the words of God's Word; or if it is ruled that one must know the whole Bible in order to understand one verse of the Bible: a logical fallacy / impossibility; then since most people are normative readers who do not espouse to the contrived insights of others; it must be determined that the Bible is not meant for all people of accountable age to read and understand. Hence people must depend upon elite, so called superior individual(s) to lead / teach / instruct them in what the Bible says - like most pastors and church leaders demand - sad to say.

On the other hand, the Bible properly read utilizing the normative rules of reading: i.e., rules of language, context and logic as people are taught in school, it is determined that the Bible does include all individuals of accountable age evidently only needing to study it utilizing normal reading / linguistic skills and nothing else
. Therefore special, contrived, unprovable, flawed insights are NOT required to understand the Bible, because it is the normative rules of language, context and logic which are biblical.

But it is also evident that some of what God has inspired the bible writers to write in His Word for the moment - properly read - is not for the moment comprehensible until such time that God has determined / decreed it to be comprehensible and fulfilled in that timeframe
- properly read without any contrivances. And the so called contrived, unprovable insights or full knowledge requirements in order to determine what each verse is saying are nonsensical and prove out to be untrustworthy when tested via a proper reading.]

B) [EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 20:1-3]:

(Rev 20:1 NASB) "Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.
(Rev 20:2 NASB) And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;
(Rev 20:3 NASB) and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time."

"1-3 These verses are integrally related to 19:20-21. After the destruction of the beast and his followers and of the false prophet, Satan (the dragon, the ancient serpent) is dealt with. He is thrown into the Abyss to be imprisoned there for a thousand years, which is the third last thing (see comments at introduction to 19:11-21). The Abyss is the demonic abode (see comments at 9:1; cf. 11:7). The angel's mission is to restrain Satan from deceiving the nations—thus the key, the chain, and the violent casting into the Abyss. That this whole action is not a recapitulation of earlier descriptions of Satan is evident from a number of points. In 12:9 (q. v. for the same titles), Satan is "hurled" out of heaven "to the earth," where he goes forth with great fury to work his deception and persecute God's people (13:14; 18:23c). But in 20:1-3, the situation is completely different. Here Satan is cast out of the earth into a place where he is kept from "deceiving the nations." The former period of Satan's restriction to earth is described as a "short time" (12:9, 12), while the time here (20:1-3) of his binding is a thousand years. In the earlier references to Satan, he is very active on the earth (2:10, 13; 12:17; 16:13, cf. 1 Peter 5:8); here he is tightly sealed in "prison" (phylaka, v. 7). The binding of Satan removes his deceptive activity among "the nations" (ta ethne), a term never used to describe the redeemed community (until ch. 21, after Satan's permanent end).
From at least the time of Victorinus (d.c.303), some have interpreted the binding of Satan as the work of Christ in the lives of believers. Thus Satan is "bound" for believers since he no longer deceives them, but he is still "loose" for unbelievers who are deceived (Victorinus Commentary on the Apocalypse 20; also Minear, I Saw a New Earth, p. 162). This explanation, however, does not take seriously the language of the Abyss and the prison in which Satan is confined, nor does it account for the releasing of Satan after the thousand years. The binding of spirits or angels is mentioned in Isaiah 24:21-23; Jude 6 (cf. Tobit 8:3; 1 Enoch 10:4, 11-12; 88:1-3; Jub 23:29; T Levi 18:12). In all these references there is no question of the spirits being bound in some respects and not in others; it signifies a complete removal as to a prison, usually in the depths of the underworld (Beasley-Murray, "The Revelation," p. 1305). Mounce's observation is well taken: "The elaborate measures taken to insure his custody are most easily understood as implying the complete cessation of his influence on earth (rather than a curbing of his activities)" (Revelation, p. 353).
In only one NT reference is there a question as to the limited binding of Satan. In Mark 3:27 Jesus refers in his parable to the strong man first being bound before his goods can be plundered. The reference is to Satan's being bound by Christ and, according to J. Jeremias, specifically relates to the temptation of Jesus (The Parables of Jesus, rev. ed. [New York: Scribner's, 1963], pp. 122-23), or, according to others, to Jesus' exorcisms mentioned in the immediate context. In any case, the binding of Satan by the ministry of Jesus did not totally immobilize the devil but struck him a vital blow. But does the reference in Mark provide a true analogy for the binding of Satan in 20:1-3, as Augustine claimed? A careful examination of Mark 3:27 and Revelation 20:1-3 leads to the conclusion that the two passages are not teaching the same truth. There is a sense in which, according to the Gospel account, Satan is in the process of being bound by the activity of Christ and the kingdom of God; but this is clearly an event different from the total consigning of Satan to the Abyss as taught in Revelation 20:1-3.
Finally, it may be noted that the thousand-year binding of Satan is concurrent with and inseparable from the thousand-year reign of the resurrected martyrs. For a thousand years on this earth, within history, the activity of Satan leading mankind into false worship and active rebellion against God and His people will be totally curbed under the authority of Christ in His kingdom. If that reign is yet future, the binding is future. If the binding refers to an earthly situation—which it clearly does—the thousand-year reign most naturally refers to an earthly situation.

[BIBLESTUDYMANUALS]:

"It is evident that if a contrived, unprovable point of view, or one of the many nonsensical epistemological, philosophical, interpretative dictates; or one of the many, illogical unprovable points of view to force a personal interpretation outside of the normal rules of reading via language, context and logic ; or if one of the many falsified theological principles which are not based on a normal reading skill set; or if one of the unproved symbolic, geographical, numerical concepts / insights, etc. is required to be learned and accepted as true in order to understand the Bible - setting aside a normal reading of the words of God's Word; or if it is ruled that one must know the whole Bible in order to understand one verse of the Bible: a logical fallacy / impossibility; then since most people are normative readers who do not espouse to the contrived insights of others; it must be determined that the Bible is not meant for all people of accountable age to read and understand. Hence people must depend upon elite, so called superior individual(s) to lead / teach / instruct them in what the Bible says - like most pastors and church leaders demand - sad to say.

On the other hand, the Bible properly read utilizing the normative rules of reading: i.e., rules of language, context and logic as people are taught in school, it is determined that the Bible does include all individuals of accountable age evidently only needing to study it utilizing normal reading / linguistic skills and nothing else
. Therefore special, contrived, unprovable, flawed insights are NOT required to understand the Bible, because it is the normative rules of language, context and logic which are biblical.

But it is also evident that some of what God has inspired the bible writers to write in His Word for the moment - properly read - is not for the moment comprehensible until such time that God has determined / decreed it to be comprehensible and fulfilled in that timeframe
- properly read without any contrivances. And the so called contrived, unprovable insights or full knowledge requirements in order to determine what each verse is saying are nonsensical and prove out to be untrustworthy when tested via a proper reading.]
C) [EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 20:4-6]:
(Rev 20:4 NASB) "Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
(Rev 20:5 NASB) The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection.
(Rev 20:6 NASB) Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years."

"4-6 The fourth last thing (see comments at introduction to 19:11-21) is the thousand-year reign of Christ on the earth. John gives us no picture of life in the Millennium in these verses; they contain only a statement about who will participate in it. He sees thrones, and judges sitting on them. The scene is usually connected with Daniel's vision of the Son of Man (Dan 7:9, 22, 27). In Daniel, justice was done for the saints by the Ancient of Days and they began their kingdom reign. The thought may be similar here. If this is the case, those who sit on the thrones are the angelic court. However, those on the thrones may be the resurrected martyrs who exercise judgmental and ruling functions during the Millennium. This possible reinterpretation of Daniel seems preferable in the light of other NT teaching as well as of Revelation itself (cf. Luke 22:30; 1Cor 6:2; Rev 2:26). They who were once judged by earth's courts to be worthy of death are now the judges of the earth under Christ.

A more difficult question concerns the identity of those who will rule with Christ. They are the "beheaded" (with an axe, pelekizo, elsewhere sphazo, "slaughter," cf. 6:9) martyrs who have previously occupied John's attention. The cause of their death is attributed to their faithful witness to Jesus and the word of God (on these terms, see comments at 1:9; cf. 6:9; 12:11). The reference to "souls" (psychas) immediately recalls 6:9, where the same expression is used of the slain witnesses under the altar. The word describes those who have lost their bodily life but are nevertheless still alive in God's sight. This term prepares us for their coming to (bodily) life again at the first resurrection. It is a mistake to take psychas to imply a later spiritual resurrection or rebirth of the soul as did Augustine and many since (contra Swete, et al.).

These martyrs are also those who did not worship the beast or his image or receive his mark on them (cf. 13:1ff.; 15:2); in a word, they are the followers of the Lamb. At this point, NIV omits a very important term. Between the description of those beheaded and the description concerning the beast worship in v. 4 are the two words kai hoitines ("and who"). This construction is capable of bearing two different meanings. It could simply introduce a further qualifying phrase to the identification of the martyrs (so NIV, TEV). But it may also be understood to introduce a second group. There are (1) those who were beheaded for their witness and (2) "also those who" did not worship the beast (so Rissi, Swete; see JB; BV—and of these also; NASB—"and those who"). This immediately alleviates a thorny problem., i.e., why only the martyrs should live and reign with Christ. Usually in Revelation the relative pronoun hoitines ("who") simply refers to the preceding group and adds some further detail (2:24, 9:4; 17:12); but in one other reference, which alone has the identical introductory terms (kai hoitines), the phrase so introduced singles out a special class or group from the more general group in the preceding statement (1:7). Thus the kai hoitines clause introduces a special class of the beheaded, i.e., those who were so beheaded because they did not worship the beast, etc. In any case, it seems that John has only the beheaded in mind (cf. 14:13).

But this presents a problem because John has elsewhere indicated that the kingdom reign will be shared by every believer who overcomes (2:26-28; 3:12, 21) and is purchased by Christ's blood (5:10). Also, in 1 Corinthians 6:2-3, Paul clearly speaks of all believers—not just martyrs—exercising judgment in the future. Revelation 5:10 indicates that the kingdom will be a "reign on the earth." Unless only those beheaded by the beast will reign in the Millennium, another explanation is demanded. The pastoral approach would explain John's reference to only the martyrs as a piece of special encouragement to them, while not implying that others would be left out (Beasley-Murray).

I feel somewhat more comfortable with the view expressed earlier (see comments at 6:9)—viz., that the martyrs represent the whole church that is faithful to Jesus whether or not they have actually been killed. They constitute a group that can in truth be described as those who "did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death" (12:11). As such, the term is a synonym for overcomers (chs. 2-3). Thus John could count himself in this group, though he may never have suffered death by the axe of the beast. In 2:11 those who during persecution are faithful to Christ even to the point of death are promised escape from the second death, which in 20:6 is promised to those who share in the first resurrection, i.e., the beheaded (v. 4). In fact, a number also of the other promises to overcomers in the letters to the seven churches find their fulfillment in chapter 20 (compare 2:11 with 20:6; 2:26-27 with 20:4; 3:5 with 20:12, 15; 3:21 with 20:4).

The martyrs "came to life." The interpretation of these words is crucial to the whole passage. Since Augustine, the majority of interpreters have taken the words to refer to a spiritual resurrection, or new birth, or to the triumph of the church. Caird, for example, sees the parallel to Christ's resurrection (2:8) but seems to spiritualize Jesus' resurrection and concludes that resurrection for the martyrs "means that they have been let loose into the world" (p. 255). This substitutes some symbolic sense of physical resurrection for the historical event. Others, rightly chastened by a more serious exegesis of the text, hold that the language teaches bodily resurrection but that the whole section (20:1-10) is not to be taken as predicting events within history but is apocalyptic language, figurative of the consolation and reward promised the martyrs (Beckwith, p. 737). Berkouwer's position typifies the mystical and vague language used by nonmillennialists to explain what the passage means:

We may not tamper with the real, graphic nature of the vision of Revelation 20, nor may we spiritualize the first resurrection. But one question is still decisive: does this vision intend to sketch for us a particular phase of history? If one does interpret it this way, it seems to me that he must include the first (bodily) resurrection in his concept of a future millennium.... This vision is not a narrative account of a future earthly reign of peace at all, but is the apocalyptic unveiling of the reality of salvation in Christ as a backdrop to the reality of the suffering and martyrdom that still continue as long as the dominion of Christ remains hidden (italics his) (Return of Christ, p. 307).

While alleviating the criticism of a spiritual resurrection, Berkouwer fails to take with equal seriousness the language of the thousand-year reign, which is everywhere in the Apocalypse a reign on the earth within history.

The verb ezesan ("came to life," from zao) is used in v. 4 of the martyrs and also in v. 5 of the "rest of the dead" who did not come to life till the thousand years were completed. When the context is that of bodily death, ezesan is used in the NT to connote physical resurrection (John 11:25; Acts 1:3; 9:41), though the normal word is egeiro ("raise up"). More importantly, Revelation clearly uses zao ("live") for the resurrection of Christ (1:18; 2:8) and also curiously for the sea beast (13:14). John 5:25 is sometimes cited as an evidence that zao refers to spiritual life, not physical resurrection. But a careful reading of the context clearly shows that while John 5:25 does indeed use zao in the sense of spiritual life (as do other NT passages), John 5:29 is definitely referring to physical resurrection and uses the phrase "rise to live" (anastasin zoes, from zao). John plainly says in Revelation 20:5 that "this is the first resurrection" (anastasis prote). The word anastasis, which occurs over forty times in the NT, is used almost exclusively of physical resurrection (Luke 2:34 is the only exception). There is no indication that John has departed from this usage in these verses.

Why does John call this the "first" resurrection? The term prote clearly implies the first in a series of two or more. John does not directly refer to a second resurrection; a second resurrection is, however, correctly inferred both from the use of prote and also from the expression "the rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended" (v. 5). Irenaeus (fl. c.175-c.195) clearly connects John's first resurrection with the "resurrection of the just" (Luke 14:14; Irenaeus Contra Haereses 39.3-10). Likewise Justin Martyr held to a physical resurrection before the Millennium (Dialogue with Trypho 80) and a general physical resurrection after the thousand years (ibid., 81), though he does not explain whether believers will also participate in the latter. From at least the time of Augustine, the first resurrection was understood as a regeneration of the soul and the second resurrection as the general physical, bodily resurrection of just and unjust (City of God 20.9-10). It must, however, be insisted that it is quite weak exegesis to make the first resurrection spiritual and the second one physical, unless the text itself clearly indicates this change, which it does not.

Another response would be to understand "the rest of the dead" who lived not until the close of the thousand years to be all the faithful except the martyrs, plus the entire body of unbelievers (so Mounce, Revelation, p. 360). This view, in our opinion, runs aground on the fact that John clearly seems to tie exclusion from the second death with those who are part of the first resurrection, thus strongly implying that those who participate in the second resurrection are destined for the second death.

Therefore, following the lead of the earlier exegesis of Irenaeus, we may understand the first resurrection as being the raising to physical life of all the dead in Christ (cf. 1 Cor 15:12ff.; 1 Thess 4:13ff.); this is the resurrection to life of John 5:29 (NIV, "rise to live"). For those who participate in this resurrection, "the second death [the lake of fire (20:14)] has no power over them" (v. 6). Therefore, they are "blessed and holy" (the fifth beatitude in Rev; see comments on 1:3) and shall be priests of God and Christ for the thousand years. On the other hand, those over whom the second death will have power must be "the rest of the dead" (v. 5), who will be participants in the second resurrection, the "rise to be condemned" of John 5:29 (cf. Acts 24:15).

In the only place other than Revelation 2:11 and 20:6 where the second death is mentioned, it refers to exclusion from physical resurrection (v. 14). Likewise, in the Palestinian Targum on Deuteronomy 33:6, the OT locus theologicus in rabbinic Judaism for proving the resurrection from the dead, the Targum reads: "Let Reuben live in this world and not die in the second death in which death the wicked die in the world to come." In the Targum the second death means exclusion from the resurrection. Not to die the second death, then, means to rise again to eternal life (cf. M. McNamara, Targum and Testament: Aramaic Paraphrases of the Hebrew Bible; A Light on the New Testament [Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1962], p. 123).

What now may be said as to the length of the kingdom reign? Nowhere in other literature is the kingdom reign of the Messiah specified as 1,000 years (on 2 Enoch 33, see note on v. 6), though estimates of 400, 40, 70, 365, or an indefinite period (Sanhedrin 99a) are found. Thus parallels to John's use of 1,000 years must be sought elsewhere. According to Danielou, the most primitive traditions in Asia relate the 1,000 years to Adam's paradisiacal time span. According to the Book of Jubilees, Adam's sin caused him to die at 930 years of age (Gen 5:5), "seventy years before attaining a thousand years, for one thousand years are as one day [Ps 90:4] in heaven... For this reason [because he ate from the tree of knowledge] he died before completing the years of this day" (Jub 4:29-30). Here the 1,000 years are based on an exegesis of Genesis 2:17 in terms of Psalm 90:4-Adam dies on the day on which he eats the forbidden fruit; but according to Psalm 90:4, a day means 1,000 years, and therefore Adam dies before completing 1,000 years. Danielou believes this is the origin of John's use of the 1,000 years.

Later, the thousand years began to be associated with the Jewish cosmic-week framework in which the history of the world is viewed as lasting a week of millennia, or seven thousand years. The last day millennium is the Sabbath-rest millennium, followed by the eighth day of the age to come. This idea was then linked interpretatively but inappropriately to 2 Peter 3:8. While early Christian writings, such as the Epistle of Barnabas, reflect this reasoning, it was not, according to Danielou, the most primitive tradition (Theology of Jewish Christianity, pp. 377-404).

Is the thousand years, then, symbolic of a perfect human lifespan or some ideal kingdom environment on the earth? In the first place, the number symbolisms of John in Revelation should not be used to argue against an earthly kingdom. It might be said that the number is symbolic of a perfect period of time of whatever length. The essence of premillennialism is in its insistence that the reign will be on earth, not in heaven, for a period of time before the final judgment and the new heavens and earth. For example, we may rightly understand the 1,260 days (forty-two months) of earlier chapters as a symbolic number, but it still refers to an actual historical period of whatever length during which the beast will destroy the saints. If we look at the time of suffering of the Smyrna Christians, it is "ten days" (2:10), a relatively short time in comparison to a thousand years of victorious reign with Christ. In any case, it is not of primary importance whether the years are actual 365-day years or symbolic of a shorter or longer period of bliss enjoyed by believers as they reign with Christ on earth (cf. 5:10 with 11:15; 22:5).

Notes

1 Some selected bibliographic references on the millennial question may be helpful: Premillennial—Alford, "Revelation," Alf (1884); Tenney, Interpreting Revelation (1957); Cullmann, Christology of the New Testament (1959); Rissi, Time and History (1966); idem, The Future of the World, An Exegetical Study of Revelation 19:11-22:15 (Naperville, Ill.: A. R. Allenson, 1972); Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ (1966); Beasley-Murray, "The Revelation," NBC rev. (1970); Ladd, Commentary on Revelation (1972); Amillennial—Augustine The City of God 20.6-15; Caird, Revelation of St. John (1966); Rudolf Schnackenburg, Present and Future; Modern Aspects of New Testament Theology (South Bend, Ind.: University of Notre Dame, 1966); G.C. Berkouwer, The Return of Christ (1972); Harry Boer, "What About the Millennium?" The Reformed Journal, 25 January 1975), 26-30; idem, "The Reward of Martyrs," The Reformed Journal, 25 (February 1975), 7-9, 28; Postmillennial—Lorraine Boettner, The Millennium (Philadelphia: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1958); Rousas J. Rushdoony, The Institutes of Biblical Law (Nutley, N.J.: Craig, 1973); H. Berkhof, Christ the Meaning of History (1979). For background material, see G. R. Beasley-Murray and H. Hobbs, Revelation: Three Viewpoints (Nashville: Broadman, 1977); Robert G. Clouse, ed., The Meaning of the Millennium: Four Views (Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1977); and Millard J. Erickson, Contemporary Options in Eschatology. A Study of the Millennium (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1977). For a helpful historical survey of the origins of millennial thought, see Danielou, Theology of Jewish Christianity.

4-6 2 Enoch 33:1ff. (of doubtful age) is sometimes cited as evidence that the Jews believed in a thousand-year Messianic Age. However, the Jewish cosmic-week explanation for the history of the world did not explicitly connect the Messiah's reign to the seventh-day millennium. Thus there arose a multitude of different year periods assigned to the Messianic Age that would precede the eternal period or age to come.

On the possibility that the first resurrection refers to the intermediate state, see Meredith Kline, "The First Resurrection," WTJ, 37 (1974-75), 366-75; J.R. Michaels, "The First Resurrection: A Response," WTJ, 39 (1976), 100-109; P.E. Hughes, "The First Resurrection: Another Interpretation," WTJ, 39 (1977), 315-18; See also J. S. Deere, "Premillennialism in Revelation 20:4-6," BS, 135 (1978), 58-73.

4 The plural ἐκάθισαν (ekathisan, lit., "they sat"; NIV, "were seated") may be another instance of the Semitic idiom where the plural is used for the passive idea (cf. note on 12:6). In this case, the NIV rendering is perfectly justified."

D) [EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON RO 20:7-10]:

(Rev 20:7 NASB) When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison,
(Rev 20:8 NASB) and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore.
(Rev 20:9 NASB) And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them.
(Rev 20:10 NASB) And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

"C. The Release and End of Satan (20:7-10)

7-10 The fifth last thing (see comments at introduction to 19:11-21) is the defeat of Satan. In v. 3 the release of Satan after the Millennium was anticipated: "He must [dei] be set free for a short time [mikron chronon; cf. 12:12, oligon kairon]." Why must (dei) he once again be released? The answer is so that he can "deceive the nations" throughout the world and lead them into conflict against "God's people." But why should God allow this? Certainly if man alone were prophetically writing the history of the world, he would not bring the archdeceiver back after the glorious reign of Christ 20:4-6. But God's thoughts and ways are not man's (Isa 55:8). Ezekiel's vision of Gog brought out of the land of Magog seems to be clearly in John's mind (Ezek 38-39). Ezekiel also saw an attack on God's people, who had been restored for some time ("after many days" [Ezek 38:8])—i.e., after the commencement of the kingdom age.

In Ezekiel 38-39, Gog refers to the prince of a host of pagan invaders from the North, especially the Scythian hordes from the distant land of Magog. In Revelation, however, the names are symbolic of the final enemies of Christ duped by Satan into attacking the community of the saints. The change in meaning has occurred historically through the frequent use in rabbinic circles of the expression "Gog and Magog" to symbolically refer to the nations spoken of in Psalm 2 who are in rebellion against God and his Messiah (cf. Caird, p. 256, for Talmud references).

If the beast and his armies are already destroyed (19:19ff.), who are these rebellious nations? It may be that the beast and his armies in the earlier context refer to the demonic powers and those in 20:7ff. to human nations in rebellion—not an unlikely solution (see comments at 19:19ff.)-or it may be that not all the people in the world will participate in the beast's armies and thus those mentioned here in v. 8 refer to other people who during the millennial reign defected in their hearts from the Messiah. In any case, this section shows something of the deep, complex nature of evil. The source of rebellion against God does not lie in man's environment or fundamentally with the devil but springs up from deep within man's own heart. The return of Satan will demonstrate this in the most dramatic manner once for all. The temporal reign of Christ will not be fulfilled till this final challenge to his kingdom occurs and he demonstrates the power of his victory at the Cross and puts down all his enemies (1 Cor 15:25).

The gathered army, which is extensive and world-wide, advances and in seige fashion encircles the "camp [parembole] of God's people, the city he loves." Most commentators take the expressions camp and city as different metaphors for God's people. The word parembole in the NT refers to either a military camp or the camp of Israel (Acts 21:34, 37; 22:24; Heb 11:34; 13:11, 13). It is a word that reminds us of the pilgrim character of the people of God even at the end of the Millennium, as long as evil is active in God's creation.

The "city he loves" presents more difficulty. According to standard Jewish eschatology, this should refer to the restored and spiritually renewed city of Jerusalem in Palestine (Ps 78:6-8; 87:2; Beckwith, p. 746). A number of modern commentators of various theological opinions have taken this Jewish identification as a clue and have so understood the passage (H. Berkhof, Christ the Meaning of History, p. 153; Ladd, Commentary on Revelation, p. 270; Charles, Commentary on Revelation, 2:145). On the other hand, John may have intended to refer merely to the community of the redeemed without any specific geographical location in mind. This would be in harmony with his previous references to the city elsewhere in the book (cf. comments at 3:12; at 11:2, and at 8). There are only two cities or kingdoms in the Apocalypse—the city of Satan, where the beast and harlot are central, and the city of God, where God and the Lamb are central. The city, then, is the kingdom of God in its millennial manifestation; it is the same city that appears in its final, most glorious form in the last chapters (21-22). Wherever God dwells among his people, there the city of God is (21:2-3). Following this understanding of the beloved city in no way weakens the validity of an earthly reign of Christ and the saints.

The swiftness and finality of the divine judgment (v. 9) emphasizes the reality of the victory of Christ at the Cross. The fire imagery may reflect Ezekiel's vision of the destruction of Gog (Ezek 38:22; 39:6). Note that unlike the Qumran and Jewish apocalyptic literature, it is God, not the saints, who destroys the enemy (cf. comments at 19:19). The devil is now dealt the long-awaited final and fatal blow (Gen 3:15; John 12:31). The "lake of fire" imagery is probably related to the teaching of Jesus about hell (gehenna, Matt 5:22; 7:19; 10:28; 13:49-50; Mark 9:48, et al.). The lake image may be related to certain Jewish descriptions of eternal judgment (cf. 2 Enoch 10:2: "a gloomy fire is always burning, and a fiery river goes forth"). The figure may intensify the idea of the permanency of the judgment (cf. comments at 14:11; also comment at 19:20; at 20:14-15; and at 21:8). That the beast and false prophet are already there does not argue for their individuality (contra Beasley-Murray, The Revelation, p. 1308) since later in the chapter "death" and "Hades," nonpersonal entities that for the sake of the imagery are personified, are cast into the same lake of fire (20:14).

Notes

8 On "Gog," see TDNT, 1:789-91; Ralph Alexander, "A Fresh Look at Ezekiel 38 and 39," ETS, 17, no. 3 (1974), 157-69. Alexander argues for multiple manifestations of Gog in history and the close parallelism between Ezek 38-39 and Rev 20:7-10.

The Palestinian Targum on Exod 40 refers to the Messiah of Ephraim "by whose hand the house of Israel is to vanquish Gog and his confederates at the end of days" (cited by Ford, p. 356).

E) [BIBLE KNOWLEDGE COMMENTARY ON THE MILLENNIAL REIGN OF CHRIST REV 20:1-10]:
(Rev 20:1 NASB) "Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.
(Rev 20:2 NASB) And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;
(Rev 20:3 NASB) and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.
(Rev 20:4 NASB) Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
(Rev 20:5 NASB) The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection.
(Rev 20:6 NASB) Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.
(Rev 20:7 NASB) When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison,
(Rev 20:8 NASB) and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war; the number of them is like the sand of the seashore.
(Rev 20:9 NASB) And they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and fire came down from heaven and devoured them.
(Rev 20:10 NASB) And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are also; and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
"
The millennial reign of Christ (20:1-10)

This chapter presents the fact that Christ will reign on earth for a thousand years. If this chapter is taken literally, it is relatively simple to understand what is meant. However, because many Bible interpreters have rejected the idea that there will be a reign of Christ on earth for a thousand years after His second coming, this chapter has been given an unusually large number of diverse interpretations, all designed to eliminate a literal millennial reign. In general there are three viewpoints, each with a number of variations.

The most recent view is what is known as postmillennialism. According to this view the thousand years represent the triumph of the gospel in the period leading up to the second coming of Christ. The return of Christ will follow the Millennium. Usually traced to Daniel Whitby, a controversial writer of the 17th century, this view has been advanced by other prominent scholars in the history of the church including Charles Hodge, A.H. Strong, David Brown, and more recently, Loraine Boettner. Basically it is an optimistic view that Christ will reign spiritually on earth through the work of the church and the preaching of the gospel. This view has largely been discarded in the 20th century, because many anti-Christian movements have prospered and the world has not progressed spiritually.

A second major view is amillennialism, which denies that there is any literal Millennium or reign of Christ on earth. The millennial reign of Christ is reduced to a spiritual reign in the hearts of believers. This reign is either over those on earth who put their trust in Him or over those in heaven. Both the amillennial and postmillennial views must interpret Revelation 20 in a nonliteral sense. Often there is wide difference among amillenarians in their interpretations of various passages in the Book of Revelation. Amillennialism historically had its first important advocate in Augustine who lived in the 4th and 5th centuries. Before Augustine, it is difficult to find one orthodox amillenarian. Modern advocates include such respected 20th-century theologians as Oswald Allis, Louis Berkhof, William Hendriksen, Abraham Kuyper, R.C.H. Lenski, and Gerhardus Vos.

A third form of interpretation is premillennialism, so named because it interprets Revelation 20 as referring to a literal thousand-year reign of Christ following His second coming. As the Second Coming occurs before the Millennium, it is therefore premillennial. Twentieth-century advocates of this position include Lewis Sperry Chafer, Charles L. Feinberg, A.C. Gaebelein, H.A. Ironside, Alva McClain, William Pettingill, Charles C. Ryrie, C.I. Scofield, Wilbur Smith, and Merrill F. Unger. Other premillenarians can be found from the first century on, including Papias, Justin Martyr, and many other early church fathers. Arguments for this position are based on the natural sequence of events in chapter 20 following chapter 19, viewing them as sequential and as stemming from the second coming of Christ. Many passages speak of the second coming of Christ being followed by a reign of righteousness on earth (Pss. 2; 24; 72; 96; Isa. 2; 9:6-7; 11-12; 63:1-6; 65-66; Jer. 23:5-6; 30:8-11; Dan. 2:44; 7:13-14; Hosea 3:4-5; Amos 9:11-15; Micah 4:1-8; Zeph. 3:14-20; Zech. 8:1-8; 14:1-9; Matt. 19:28; 25:31-46; Acts 15:16-18; Rom. 11:25-27; Jude 14-15; Rev. 2:25-28; 19:11-20:6).

It should be evident that one's interpretation of Revelation 20 is an important decision that serves as a watershed for various approaches to prophetic Scripture. The approach taken in this commentary is that the events in chapter 20 follow chronologically the events in chapter 19. Many also believe that chapters 21-22 follow in chronological order (for more detailed discussion of various views, see Walvoord's Revelation, pp. 282-90; and The Millennial Kingdom. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1959, pp. 263-75).

1. The Binding Of Satan (20:1-3)

(Rev 20:1 NASB) "Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.
(Rev 20:2 NASB) And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years;
(Rev 20:3 NASB) and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed; after these things he must be released for a short time.

20:1-3. Chapter 20 begins with the familiar phrase, And I saw an angel (cf. 7:2; 8:2; 10:1; 14:6; 18:1; 19:17). The "and" with which this chapter begins suggests that it continues the sequence of events begun in 19:1, which is introduced with the words "after this." In chapter 19 the Greek has "and" at the beginnings of 15 verses (but it is omitted in the niv in vv. 4, 8, 10-11, 13-16, and 21 and is trans. "then" in vv. 5-6, 9, and 19 and "but" in v. 20). The use of the word "and" (kai) often indicates action that follows in logical and/or chronological sequence. Accordingly there is no reason why chapter 20 should not be considered as describing events which follow chapter 19. "And" (kai) continues throughout chapter 20, beginning each verse except verse 5. There is thus no linguistic or grammatical suggestion that these events are anything other than events following the second coming of Christ and occurring in sequence.

In addition to the grammar which connects these incidents, there is also the causal connection of the events which follow naturally from the fact that Christ will have returned to the earth. In chapter 19 these events include casting the beast and the false prophet into the lake of burning sulfur and destroying their armies. Having disposed of the world ruler and the false prophet as well as the armies, it would be only natural that Christ should then turn to Satan himself, as He does in chapter 20.

Accordingly John saw an angel descend from heaven holding the key to the Abyss and a great chain. The angel grabbed Satan, the dragon (cf. 12:3-4, 7, 9, 13, 16-17; 13:2, 4, 11; 16:13), that ancient serpent (12:9, 14-15), bound him, and threw him into the Abyss, and locked it, in order to prevent Satan's work of deceiving the nations any more for a thousand years.

An important interpretive question is whether Satan was bound at the first coming of Christ, as is commonly advanced by amillenarians, or will be bound at His second coming, as is held by premillenarians. Revelation 20:1-3 rather clearly contradicts the amillennial interpretation that Satan was bound at the first coming of Christ. Throughout the Scriptures Satan is said to exert great power not only against the world but also against Christians (Acts 5:3; 1 Cor. 5:5; 7:5; 2 Cor. 2:11; 11:14; 12:7; 1 Tim. 1:20). If there is still any question whether this is so, it should be settled by the exhortation of 1 Peter 5:8: "Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."

Amillenarians answer this by saying that Satan is limited by the power of God. But this has always been true, as illustrated in the Book of Job and elsewhere. To describe Satan's present situation as being locked in the Abyss and unable to deceive the nations for a period of a thousand years is simply not factually true today, and it requires extreme spiritualization of the literalness of this passage as well as other New Testament references to Satan's activities and present power. This same power of Satan is further revealed in the Great Tribulation when he empowers the world ruler (Rev. 13:4). Satan will have been cast out of heaven at the beginning of the Great Tribulation and will then be more active than ever (Rev. 12:9, 13, 15, 17).

If Satan is actually deceiving the nations today, as the Scriptures and the facts of history indicate, then he is not now locked in the Abyss, and the thousand-year Millennium is still future. This interpretation is also supported by the final statement that after the thousand years, he must be set free for a short time (20:3). Here expositors again are at a loss to explain this except in a literal way, making possible a final satanic rebellion at the end of the millennial kingdom.

2. The Resurrection And Reward Of The Martyrs (20:4-6)

(Rev 20:4 NASB) Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
(Rev 20:5 NASB) The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection.
(Rev 20:6 NASB) Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years.

(Rev 20:4 NASB) "Then I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their testimony of Jesus and because of the word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received the mark on their forehead and on their hand; and they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years."

"20:4. Next in the series of revelations John recorded that he saw thrones on which were seated those who had been given authority to judge. In addition he saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of their standing true to the Lord and His Word in the Great Tribulation. The fact that John could see them implies that they had received intermediate bodies in heaven and were awaiting their resurrections.

A distinction should be made between what John saw and what he received as revelation. Though he could see the souls, he was informed that they had been beheaded because they had refused to worship the beast or his image and would not receive his mark. What John saw was not all the souls in heaven but a particular generation of martyred dead who had been contemporaneous with the world ruler, the beast out of the sea (13:1). If the church were raptured prior to this event, as premillenarians teach, it would make sense to single out these martyred dead for resurrection. But if the church were not raptured, it would be most unusual to ignore all the martyrs of preceding generations, the church as a whole, and to specify this relatively small group.

John apparently was not told the identity of the individuals seated on the thrones. They evidently do not include the martyred dead themselves. Christ had predicted (Luke 22:29-30) that the 12 disciples would "eat and drink at My table in My kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the 12 tribes of Israel." As the disciples are also a part of the church, the body of Christ, it would be natural for them to sit on these thrones.

According to the Scriptures a series of judgments is related to Christ's return. The beast and the false prophet will be cast into the fiery lake (Rev. 19:20), Satan will be cast into the Abyss (20:1-3), and then the martyred dead of the Great Tribulation will be judged and rewarded (v. 4). In addition, Israel will be judged (Ezek. 20:33-38), and the Gentiles will be judged (Matt. 25:31-46). These judgments precede and lead up to the millennial kingdom.

John stated that these martyred dead came to life and reigned with Christ a thousand years. Their coming to life suggests that they will be given resurrected bodies. In addition to receiving the visual revelation, John was informed as to the meaning and character of the judgment that was here taking place.

(Rev 20:5 NASB) "The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection."

"20:5. John was also informed that the rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This refers to the resurrection of the wicked dead, discussed later (vv. 11-15).

John stated that what he was seeing is the first resurrection. Posttribulationists refer to this as proof that the church will not be raptured before the Tribulation and that no resurrection has taken place prior to this point in fulfillment of God's prophetic program. It should be obvious, however, that in no sense could this be the number-one resurrection chronologically because historically Christ was the first to rise from the dead with a transformed, resurrected body. There was also the resurrection "of many" (Matt. 27:52-53) which took place when Christ died. In what sense then can this resurrection in Revelation 20:5 be "first"?

As the context which follows indicates, "the first resurrection" (vv. 5-6) contrasts with the last resurrection (vv. 12-13), which is followed by "the second death" (vv. 6, 14). It is first in the sense of before. All the righteous, regardless of when they are raised, take part in the resurrection which is first or before the final resurrection (of the wicked dead) at the end of the Millennium. This supports the conclusion that the resurrection of the righteous is by stages. Christ was "the Firstfruits" (1 Cor. 15:23), which was preceded by the token resurrection of a number of saints (Matt. 27:52-53). Then will occur the Rapture of the church, which will include the resurrection of dead church saints and the translation of living church saints (1 Thes. 4:13-18). The resurrection of the two witnesses will occur in the Great Tribulation (Rev. 11:3, 11). Then the resurrection of the martyred dead of the Great Tribulation will occur soon after Christ returns to earth (20:4-5). To these may be added the resurrection of Old Testament saints which apparently will also occur at this time, though it is not mentioned in this text (cf. Isa. 26:19-21; Ezek. 37:12-14; Dan. 12:2-3).

(Rev 20:6 NASB) Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years."

"20:6. All those who share in the resurrection of the righteous are said to be blessed and holy, and the second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with Him for a thousand years. While all the righteous will be raised before the Millennium, individuals will retain their identities and their group identifications such as Gentile believers and believers in Israel in the Old Testament, the church of the New Testament, and saints of the Tribulation.

It should be noted that the term "a thousand years" occurs six times in chapter 20. This was not something that could be seen visually; John had to be informed of it and the vision had to be interpreted as relating to a period of a thousand years. While amillenarians and others have tended to view this as nonliteral, there is no evidence to support this conclusion. This is the only chapter in Revelation where a period of a thousand years is mentioned, and the fact that it is mentioned six times and is clearly described as a period of time before which and after which events take place lead to the conclusion that it means a literal thousand-year period.

Since other time designations in Revelation are literal (e.g., "42 months," 11:2; 13:5; "1,260 days," 11:3; 12:6) it is natural to take "a thousand years" literally also. If the term "a thousand years" designates a nonspecific but long period of time, the present Age between Christ's two advents, as amillenarians hold, then one would expect John to say simply that Christ would reign "a long time," in contrast to the "short time" of Satan's release (20:3).

Events which precede the thousand years are (a) the second coming of Christ, (b) the beast and the false prophet thrown into the fiery lake, (c) the armies destroyed, (d) Satan bound and locked in the Abyss, (e) thrones of judgment introduced, and (f) the martyred dead of the Tribulation resurrected. These events revealed in their proper sequence make it clear that the thousand-year period follows all these events, including the second coming of Christ. The conclusion that the Second Coming is premillennial is clearly supported by a normal, literal interpretation of this text.

 3. The Final Doom Of Satan (20:7-10)

Apart from frequent mention of the thousand years, no details are given concerning the reign of Christ on earth except that it is a time of great blessing. Many Old Testament passages supply additional information about the Millennium. The main point of the revelation here is that the Millennium follows the Second Coming.

20:7-8. John was told what would happen at the conclusion of the thousand years. Satan will be released from the Abyss, his prison, and will make a final attempt to induce nations—called Gog and Magog—to come and battle with him against Christ. Satan's release will produce a worldwide rebellion against the millennial reign of Christ. The armies will be so vast in numbers that they are said to be like the sand on the seashore.

Who are these who will follow Satan? Those who survive the Tribulation will enter the Millennium in their natural bodies, and they will bear children and repopulate the earth (Isa. 65:18-25). Under ideal circumstances in which all know about Jesus Christ (cf. Jer. 31:33-34), many will outwardly profess faith in Christ without actually placing faith in Him for salvation. The shallowness of their professions will become apparent when Satan is released. The multitudes who follow Satan are evidently those who have never been born again in the millennial kingdom.

The question has been raised as to whether this war is the same one discussed in Ezekiel 38-39, where Gog and Magog are also mentioned (Ezek. 38:2). These are two different battles, for in the war of Ezekiel 38-39 the armies come primarily from the north and involve only a few nations of the earth. But the battle in Revelation 20:7-9 will involve all nations, so armies will come from all directions.

Furthermore nothing in the context of Ezekiel 38-39 is similar to the battle in Revelation, as there is no mention of Satan or of millennial conditions. In Revelation 20:7 the context clearly places the battle at the end of the Millennium, whereas the Ezekiel battle takes place in connection with end-time events.

Why then is the expression "Gog and Magog" used by John? The Scriptures do not explain the expression. In fact it can be dropped out of the sentence without changing the meaning. In Ezekiel 38 Gog was the ruler and Magog was the people, and both were in rebellion against God and were enemies of Israel. It may be that the terms have taken on a symbolic meaning much as one speaks of a person's "Waterloo," which historically refers to the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo, Belgium, but has come to represent any great disaster. Certainly the armies here come in the same spirit of antagonism against God that is found in Ezekiel 38.

20:9. The armies will surround the camp of God's people, the city He loves. This could mean only Jerusalem, which will be the capital of the world government of Christ throughout the millennial kingdom (cf. Isa. 2:1-5). The result is immediate judgment. Fire will come down from heaven and devour them.

In contrast with Ezekiel 38, there is no mention of earthquake, hail, or other disasters. The only similarity is that in both cases there is fire from heaven, a frequent method of divine judgment on the earth (cf. Gen. 19:24; Ex. 9:23-24; Lev. 9:24; 10:2; Num. 11:1; 16:35; 26:10; 1 Kings 18:38; 2 Kings 1:10, 12, 14; 1 Chron. 21:26; 2 Chron. 7:1, 3; Ps. 11:6; etc.).

20:10. After Satan's followers will be destroyed, he will be thrown into the lake of burning sulfur. Being cast into the lake that was prepared for him and his angels is the final judgment on Satan (cf. Matt. 25:41). Most significant as a support of the doctrine of eternal punishment is the concluding statement, They will be tormented day and night forever and ever. The word "they" includes the devil, the beast, and the false prophet. The lake of burning sulfur is not annihilation, for the beast and false prophet are still there a thousand years after they experienced their final judgment (Rev. 19:20)."

[BIBLESTUDYMANUALS]:

"It is evident that if a contrived, unprovable point of view, or one of the many nonsensical epistemological, philosophical, interpretative dictates; or one of the many, illogical unprovable points of view to force a personal interpretation outside of the normal rules of reading via language, context and logic ; or if one of the many falsified theological principles which are not based on a normal reading skill set; or if one of the unproved symbolic, geographical, numerical concepts / insights, etc. is required to be learned and accepted as true in order to understand the Bible - setting aside a normal reading of the words of God's Word; or if it is ruled that one must know the whole Bible in order to understand one verse of the Bible: a logical fallacy / impossibility; then since most people are normative readers who do not espouse to the contrived insights of others; it must be determined that the Bible is not meant for all people of accountable age to read and understand. Hence people must depend upon elite, so called superior individual(s) to lead / teach / instruct them in what the Bible says - like most pastors and church leaders demand - sad to say.

On the other hand, the Bible properly read utilizing the normative rules of reading: i.e., rules of language, context and logic as people are taught in school, it is determined that the Bible does include all individuals of accountable age evidently only needing to study it utilizing normal reading / linguistic skills and nothing else
. Therefore special, contrived, unprovable, flawed insights are NOT required to understand the Bible, because it is the normative rules of language, context and logic which are biblical.

But it is also evident that some of what God has inspired the bible writers to write in His Word for the moment - properly read - is not for the moment comprehensible until such time that God has determined / decreed it to be comprehensible and fulfilled in that timeframe
- properly read without any contrivances. And the so called contrived, unprovable insights or full knowledge requirements in order to determine what each verse is saying are nonsensical and prove out to be untrustworthy when tested via a proper reading.]

F) [EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 20:11-15]:
(Rev 20:11 NASB) "Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.
(Rev 20:12 NASB) 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 from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.
(Rev 20:13 NASB) And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.
(Rev 20:14 NASB ) Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
(Rev 20:15 NASB) And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."

"D. Great White Throne Judgment (20:11-15)
11-15 John describes in vivid pictures the sixth last thing (see comments in introduction to 19:11-21), the final judgment of mankind. Unlike many of the vivid, imaginative paintings based on this vision, here John describes a strange, unearthly scene. Heaven and earth flee from the unidentified figure who sits on the majestic white throne. The language of poetic imagery captures the fading character of everything of the world (1 John 2:17). Now the only reality is God seated on the throne of judgment, before Whom all must appear (Heb 9:27). His verdict alone is holy and righteous (white symbolism). It is possible that in Revelation the earth and sky refer more to the religio-political order than to the cosmological one (Caird). Since 20:11-12 makes use of the theophany of Daniel 7:9-10, the one seated on the throne is presumably God himself; but since 22:1, 3 mention the throne of God and of the Lamb, it may well be that here Jesus shares in the judgment (John 5:27; R.T. France, Jesus and the Old Testament [Downers Grove, Ill.: InterVarsity, 1971], p. 203). God has kept the last judgment in his own hands. This vision declares that even though it may have seemed that earth's course of history ran contrary to his holy will, no single day or hour in the world's drama has ever detracted from the absolute sovereignty of God (Lilje).
But who are the dead (vv. 12-13)'? Earlier in the chapter, John has mentioned the "rest of the dead" who are not resurrected till the thousand years are completed (v. 5). As Mounce observes: "If the first resurrection is limited to actual martyrs, then the judgment of verses 11-15 involves both believer and impenitent. If the second resurrection is of the wicked only, then the judgment is of those who will in fact be consigned to the lake of fire" (Revelation, p. 365). While no resurrection is mentioned in vv. 11-15, the dead may well be those who did not participate in the first resurrection. Since the second death has no power over those who were raised in the first resurrection (v. 6), it may be argued that only those who are the enemies of God - i. e., the wicked dead - stand before this throne (John 5:24). This is by no means a necessary inference, though it is the most satisfying exegesis.

[BIBLESTUDYMANUALS]:

"It is evident that if a contrived, unprovable point of view, or one of the many nonsensical epistemological, philosophical, interpretative dictates; or one of the many, illogical unprovable points of view to force a personal interpretation outside of the normal rules of reading via language, context and logic ; or if one of the many falsified theological principles which are not based on a normal reading skill set; or if one of the unproved symbolic, geographical, numerical concepts / insights, etc. is required to be learned and accepted as true in order to understand the Bible - setting aside a normal reading of the words of God's Word; or if it is ruled that one must know the whole Bible in order to understand one verse of the Bible: a logical fallacy / impossibility; then since most people are normative readers who do not espouse to the contrived insights of others; it must be determined that the Bible is not meant for all people of accountable age to read and understand. Hence people must depend upon elite, so called superior individual(s) to lead / teach / instruct them in what the Bible says - like most pastors and church leaders demand - sad to say.

On the other hand, the Bible properly read utilizing the normative rules of reading: i.e., rules of language, context and logic as people are taught in school, it is determined that the Bible does include all individuals of accountable age evidently only needing to study it utilizing normal reading / linguistic skills and nothing else
. Therefore special, contrived, unprovable, flawed insights are NOT required to understand the Bible, because it is the normative rules of language, context and logic which are biblical.

But it is also evident that some of what God has inspired the bible writers to write in His Word for the moment - properly read - is not for the moment comprehensible until such time that God has determined / decreed it to be comprehensible and fulfilled in that timeframe
- properly read without any contrivances. And the so called contrived, unprovable insights or full knowledge requirements in order to determine what each verse is saying are nonsensical and prove out to be untrustworthy when tested via a proper reading.]

F cont.) [EXPOSITOR'S BIBLE COMMENTARY ON REV 20:11-15, cont.]:
"A moment of tension arrives. The books are opened. It is sobering to ponder that in God's sight nothing is forgotten; all will give an account of their actions (v. 13). Judgment always proceeds on the basis of works (Matt 25:41ff.; Rom 2:6; 2 Cor 5:10; Heb 4:12-13). The "books" are the records of human deeds (v. 12). While in Jewish thought there are references to books of good and evil deeds being kept before God (4 Ezra 6:20; 1 Enoch 47:3), John is probably alluding to Daniel 7:10: "The court was seated, and the books were opened." We are not told whether these books contain both good and evil works or only the latter. John is more concerned about another book, the book of life, which alone seems to be decisive (vv. 12, 15; cf. at 3:5; also 13:8; 17:8; 21:27). How can these two pictures be harmonized? In reality there is no conflict. Works are unmistakable evidence of the loyalty of the heart; they express either belief or unbelief, faithfulness or unfaithfulness. The judgment will reveal through the records whether or not the loyalties were with God and the Lamb or with God's enemies. John's theology of faith and its inseparable relation to works is the same as Jesus' and Paul's (John 5:29; Rom 2:6ff.). This judgment is not a balancing of good works over bad works. Those who have their names in the Lamb's book of life will also have records of righteous deeds. The opposite will also be true. The imagery reflects the delicate balance between grace and obedience (cf. comments at 19:6-8).
Three broad places are mentioned as containing the dead: the sea, death, and Hades (v. 13). The sea represents the place of unburied bodies while death and Hades represent the reality of dying and the condition entered on at death (cf. 1:18; 6:8). The imagery suggests release of the bodies and persons from their places of confinement following death; i.e., it portrays resurrection. They rise to receive sentence John 5:29b). Death and Hades are personified (cf. 6:8) and in a vivid image are cast into the lake of fire to be permanently destroyed (cf. 19:20; 20:10). This not only fulfills Paul's cry concerning the last enemy, death, which will be defeated by the victorious kingdom of Christ (1 Cor 15:16), but also signals the earth's new condition: "There will be no more death" (21:4).
The final scene in this dark and fearful passage is in v. 15. From the English rendering it might be inferred that John is doubtful whether anyone will be thrown into the lake of fire. The Greek construction, however, is not so indefinite. John uses a first-class condition, which assumes the reality of the first clause and shows the consequences in the second clause. Thus we might paraphrase the verse: "If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, and I assume there were such, he was thrown into the lake of fire." When taken seriously, this final note evaporates all theories of universalism or apocatastasis (cf. Berkouwer's excellent discussion in Return of Christ, pp. 387-423).
Notes
15 The "second death" terminology does not occur in rabbinic teaching in this period, but it is found in the Targum to the Prophets on Isa 65:6, where it is said that the bodies (resurrected) of the wicked are delivered to the second death. This supports the idea of a second resurrection of the unjust that precedes the casting into the second death (cf. Israel Abraham's Studies in Pharasaism and the Gospels 2d ser. [New York: Ktav, 1967], pp. 41-49)."

[BIBLESTUDYMANUALS]:

"It is evident that if a contrived, unprovable point of view, or one of the many nonsensical epistemological, philosophical, interpretative dictates; or one of the many, illogical unprovable points of view to force a personal interpretation outside of the normal rules of reading via language, context and logic ; or if one of the many falsified theological principles which are not based on a normal reading skill set; or if one of the unproved symbolic, geographical, numerical concepts / insights, etc. is required to be learned and accepted as true in order to understand the Bible - setting aside a normal reading of the words of God's Word; or if it is ruled that one must know the whole Bible in order to understand one verse of the Bible: a logical fallacy / impossibility; then since most people are normative readers who do not espouse to the contrived insights of others; it must be determined that the Bible is not meant for all people of accountable age to read and understand. Hence people must depend upon elite, so called superior individual(s) to lead / teach / instruct them in what the Bible says - like most pastors and church leaders demand - sad to say.

On the other hand, the Bible properly read utilizing the normative rules of reading: i.e., rules of language, context and logic as people are taught in school, it is determined that the Bible does include all individuals of accountable age evidently only needing to study it utilizing normal reading / linguistic skills and nothing else
. Therefore special, contrived, unprovable, flawed insights are NOT required to understand the Bible, because it is the normative rules of language, context and logic which are biblical.

But it is also evident that some of what God has inspired the bible writers to write in His Word for the moment - properly read - is not for the moment comprehensible until such time that God has determined / decreed it to be comprehensible and fulfilled in that timeframe
- properly read without any contrivances. And the so called contrived, unprovable insights or full knowledge requirements in order to determine what each verse is saying are nonsensical and prove out to be untrustworthy when tested via a proper reading.]

G) [BIBLE KMOWLEDGE COMMENTARY ON REV  20:11-15]:
(Rev 20:11 NASB) "Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat upon it, from whose presence earth and heaven fled away, and no place was found for them.
(Rev 20:12 NASB) 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 from the things which were written in the books, according to their deeds.
(Rev 20:13 NASB) And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.
(Rev 20:14 NASB) Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
(Rev 20:15 NASB) And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire."

"O. The judgment of the great white throne (20:11-15)
1. The Resurrection And Judgment Of The Wicked Dead (20:11-13)
20:11. The final five verses of chapter 20 introduce the judgment at the end of human history and the beginning of the eternal state. John wrote, I saw a great white throne. The events here described clearly follow the thousand years of verses 1-6. The great white throne apparently differs from the throne mentioned more than 30 times in Revelation beginning with 4:2. It apparently is located neither in heaven nor earth but in space, as suggested by the statement, Earth and sky fled from His presence, and there was no place for them. It is not indicated who sits on this throne, but probably it is Christ Himself as in 3:21 (cf. Matt. 19:28; 25:31; John 5:22; 2 Cor. 5:10—though the throne in these references is not necessarily the same throne as in Rev. 20:11). While Christ is now seated on the throne in heaven and will be seated on the Davidic throne on earth in the Millennium (Matt. 25:31), this white throne judgment is a special situation.
The question has been raised as to whether the earth and the starry heavens as they are today will be destroyed at this point in the future or will be simply restored to a new state of purity. Many references in the Bible suggest that the earth and the heavens, as now known, will be destroyed (cf. Matt. 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 16:17; 21:33; 2 Peter 3:10-13). This is confirmed by the opening statement of Revelation 21, "the first heaven and the first earth had passed away."
The present universe was created like a gigantic clock which is running down, and if left to itself, would ultimately come to a state of complete inactivity. Inasmuch as God created the universe and set it in motion for the purpose of enacting the drama of sin and redemption, it would seem proper to begin anew with a new heaven and a new earth suitable for His eternal purpose and built on a different principle. The new heaven and new earth described in chapter 21 has no similarity to the present earth and heaven.
20:12. The purpose of establishing the great white throne is to judge the dead. John wrote that the dead, great and small, stood before the throne. From other Scriptures it seems that all the righteous dead have been raised, including Old Testament saints, the dead of the Great Tribulation, and the church saints, the body of Christ (see comments on v. 5). Thus it may be assumed that verses 11-15 refer to the judgment of the wicked dead, who according to verse 5 would not be resurrected until after the thousand years and will have no part in what is called "the first resurrection."
At that judgment John saw books... opened, including a book called the book of life. The text does not state clearly what these books are, but the first opened books may refer to human works and "the book of life" is the record of those who are saved (cf. 3:5; 13:8; 17:8; 20:15; 21:27). The fact that these dead have not been raised before is evidence in itself that they do not have eternal life and that their judgment is a judgment of their works.
All final judgments deal with works, whether the works of Christians rewarded at the judgment seat of Christ or the works of the unsaved which are in view here. The question of who is saved is determined not in heaven but in life on earth. What is revealed here is the confirmation of one's destiny by means of God's written records.
Some view the book of life as the record of all the living and that when the unsaved die their names are deleted from it. A better view is that the book is the record of those who are saved whose names were "written in the book of life from the creation of the world" (17:8). Regardless of which view is taken, at this time only the saved are in the book of life.
20:13. In order for the wicked dead to be judged... the sea... death, and hades will give up their dead. Those who are unsaved at the time of death go immediately to a state of conscious punishment described in the Old Testament as sheol and in the New Testament as hades. Neither sheol nor hades ever refer to the eternal state and should not be considered equivalent to the English word "hell," which properly is the place of eternal punishment. The lake of fire (vv. 14-15) referred to as "the fiery lake of burning sulfur" (19:20) is the same as gehenna (cf. Matt. 5:22, 29-30; 10:28; 18:9; 23:15, 33; Mark 9:43, 45, 47; Luke 12:5; James 3:6) and is translated "hell" in the niv and kjv with the word "fire" added in several passages. Actually gehenna was originally a name for the place of burning refuse, located in the Valley of Hinnom south of Jerusalem. The term, however, goes far beyond this geographic background and refers to eternal punishment.
The statement "death and hades gave up the dead" means that the physical bodies of the unsaved will be joined with their spirits which have been in hades. The mention of "the sea" giving up its dead makes it clear that regardless of how far a body has disintegrated, it will nevertheless be resurrected for this judgment.
2. The Lake Of Fire (20:14-15)
20:14-15. Following the great white throne judgment death and hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death, the final destination of the wicked. The doctrine of eternal punishment has always been a problem to Christians who enjoy the grace of God and salvation in Christ. The Bible is clear, however, that the punishment of the wicked is eternal. This is confirmed in verse 10, where the beast and the false prophet are still in the lake of fire after the thousand years of Christ's millennial reign. Though the wicked dead will receive resurrection bodies, they will be quite unlike the resurrection bodies of the saints. The former people will continue to be sinful but will be indestructible and will exist forever in the lake of fire.
Though many have attempted to find some scriptural way to avoid the doctrine of eternal punishment, as far as biblical revelation is concerned there are only two destinies for human souls; one is to be with the Lord and the other is to be forever separated from God in the lake of fire. This solemn fact is motivation for carrying the gospel to the ends of the earth whatever the cost, and doing everything possible to inform and challenge people to receive Christ before it is too late."

[BIBLESTUDYMANUALS]:

"It is evident that if a contrived, unprovable point of view, or one of the many nonsensical epistemological, philosophical, interpretative dictates; or one of the many, illogical unprovable points of view to force a personal interpretation outside of the normal rules of reading via language, context and logic ; or if one of the many falsified theological principles which are not based on a normal reading skill set; or if one of the unproved symbolic, geographical, numerical concepts / insights, etc. is required to be learned and accepted as true in order to understand the Bible - setting aside a normal reading of the words of God's Word; or if it is ruled that one must know the whole Bible in order to understand one verse of the Bible: a logical fallacy / impossibility; then since most people are normative readers who do not espouse to the contrived insights of others; it must be determined that the Bible is not meant for all people of accountable age to read and understand. Hence people must depend upon elite, so called superior individual(s) to lead / teach / instruct them in what the Bible says - like most pastors and church leaders demand - sad to say.

On the other hand, the Bible properly read utilizing the normative rules of reading: i.e., rules of language, context and logic as people are taught in school, it is determined that the Bible does include all individuals of accountable age evidently only needing to study it utilizing normal reading / linguistic skills and nothing else
. Therefore special, contrived, unprovable, flawed insights are NOT required to understand the Bible, because it is the normative rules of language, context and logic which are biblical.

But it is also evident that some of what God has inspired the bible writers to write in His Word for the moment - properly read - is not for the moment comprehensible until such time that God has determined / decreed it to be comprehensible and fulfilled in that timeframe
- properly read without any contrivances. And the so called contrived, unprovable insights or full knowledge requirements in order to determine what each verse is saying are nonsensical and prove out to be untrustworthy when tested via a proper reading.]