Bible Gateway passage: Revelation 20 - English Standard Version (2024)

The Thousand Years

20Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, ^(A)holding in his hand the key to ^(B)the bottomless pit^[a] and a great chain. ²And he seized ^(C)the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and ^(D)bound him for a thousand years, ³and threw him into ^(E)the pit, and shut it and ^(F)sealed it over him, so that ^(G)he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.

⁴Then I saw ^(H)thrones, and ^(I)seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed. Also I saw ^(J)the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and those ^(K)who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads or their hands. ^(L)They came to life and ^(M)reigned with Christ for a thousand years. ⁵The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended. This is the first resurrection. ^6(N)Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such ^(O)the second death has no power, but they will be ^(P)priests of God and of Christ, and they ^(Q)will reign with him for a thousand years.

The Defeat of Satan

⁷And when the thousand years are ended, ^(R)Satan will be released from his prison ⁸and will come out ^(S)to deceive the nations that are at the four corners of the earth, ^(T)Gog and Magog, ^(U)to gather them for battle; their number is like the sand of the sea. ⁹And ^(V)they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded ^(W)the camp of the saints and ^(X)the beloved city, but ^(Y)fire came down from heaven^[b] and consumed them, ¹⁰and the devil ^(Z)who had deceived them was ^(AA)thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where ^(AB)the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

Judgment Before the Great White Throne

¹¹Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence ^(AC)earth and sky fled away, and ^(AD)no place was found for them. ¹²And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and ^(AE)books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is ^(AF)the book of life. And ^(AG)the dead were judged by what was written in the books, ^(AH)according to what they had done. ¹³And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, ^(AI)Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, ^(AJ)according to what they had done. ¹⁴Then ^(AK)Death and Hades ^(AL)were thrown into the lake of fire. This is ^(AM)the second death, the lake of fire. ¹⁵And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, ^(AN)he was thrown into the lake of fire.