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А. П. Лопухин: Tолковая Библия или комментарий на все книги Св.Писания Ветхого и Нового Заветов - 1903-1914
Видения двадцатой главы нужно рассматривать не в связи с предыдущею главою, но в связи с общим содержанием Апокалипсиса как откровения истории Церкви до начала вечного царства. В двадцатой главе откровение возвращается снова к началу истории Христианской Церкви на земле. Мы снова встречаемся с диаволом, снова видим его в его отношении к Христианской Церкви, хотя и в отношении, рассматриваемом с другой стороны, - со стороны победоносной борьбы христиан против их исконного врага.
Matthew Henry: Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible - 1706
This chapter is thought by some to be the darkest part of all this prophecy: it is very probable that the things contained in it are not yet accomplished; and therefore it is the wiser way to content ourselves with general observations, rather than to be positive and particular in our explications of it. Here we have an account, I. Of the binding of Satan for a thousand years, ver. 1-3. II. The reign of the saints with Christ for the same time, ver. 4-6. III. Of the loosing of Satan, and the conflict of the church with Gog and Magog, ver. 7-10. IV. Of the day of judgment, ver. 11, &c.
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
An angel binds Satan a thousand years, and shuts him up in the bottomless pit, Rev 20:1-3. They who were beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, who have part in the first resurrection, and shall reign with Christ a thousand years, Rev 20:4-6. When the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, shall go forth and deceive the nations, and shall gather Gog and Magog from the four corners of the earth, Rev 20:7, Rev 20:8. These shall besiege the holy city; but fire shall come down from heaven and consume them, and they and the devil be cast into a lake of fire, Rev 20:9, Rev 20:10. The great white throne, and the dead, small and great, standing before God, and all judged according to their works, Rev 20:11, Rev 20:12. The sea, death, and hades, give up their dead, and are destroyed; and all not found in the book of life are cast into the lake of fire, Rev 20:13-15.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
2This chapter Rev 20:1-15, like Rev 16:12-21, Rev_. 17-19, pertains to the future, and discloses things which are yet to occur. It is not to be wondered at, therefore, for the reason stated in the notes on Rev 16:16, that much obscurity should hang over it, nor that it is difficult to explain it so as to remove all obscurity. The statement in this chapter, however, is distinct and clear in its general characteristics, and time will make all its particular statements free from ambiguity.
In the pRev_ious chapter, an account is given of the final destruction of two of the most formidable enemies of the church, and consequently the removal of two of the hindrances to the universal spread of the gospel - the beast and the false prophet - the papal and the Muhammedan powers. But one obstacle remains to be removed - the power of Satan as concentrated and manifested in the form of pagan power. These three powers it was said Rev 16:13-14 would concentrate their forces as the time of the final triumph of Christianity drew on; and with these the last great battle was to be fought. Two of these have been subdued; the conquest over the other remains, and Satan is to be arrested and bound for a thousand years. He is then to be released for a time, and afterward finally destroyed, and at that period the end will come.
The chapter comprises the following parts:
I. The binding of Satan, Rev 20:1-3. An angel comes down from heaven with the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand, and seizes upon the dragon, and casts him into the pit, that for a thousand years he should deceive the nations no more. The great enemy of God and his cause is thus made a prisoner, and is restrained from making war in any form against the church. The way is thus prepared for the peace and triumph which follow.
II. The millennium, Rev 20:4-6. John sees thrones, and persons sitting on them; he sees the souls of those who were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the Word of God - those who had not worshipped the beast nor his image - living and reigning with Christ during the thousand years: the spirits of the martyrs Rev_ived, and becoming again the reigning spirit on earth. This he calls the first resurrection; and on all such he says the second death has no power. Temporal death they might experience - for such the martyrs had experienced - but over them the second death has no dominion, for they live and reign with the Saviour. This is properly the millennium - the long period when the principles of true religion will have the ascendency on the earth, as if the martyrs and confessors - the most devoted and eminent Christians of other times - should appear again upon the earth, and as if their spirit should become the reigning and pervading spirit of all who professed the Christian name.
III. The release of Satan, Rev 20:7-8. After the thousand years of peace and triumph shall have expired, Satan will be released from his prison, and will be permitted to go out and deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, and gather them together to battle; that is, a state of things will exist as if Satan were then released. There will be again an outbreak of sin on the earth, and a conflict with the principles of religion, as if an innumerable multitude of opposers should be marshalled for the conflict by the great author of all evil.
IV. The final subjugation of Satan, and destruction of his power on the earth, Rev 20:9-10. After the temporary and partial outbreak of evil Rev 20:7-8, Satan and his hosts will be entirely destroyed. The destruction will be as if fire should come down from heaven to devour the assembled hosts Rev 20:9, and as if Satan, the great leader of evil, should be cast into the same lake where the beast and false prophet are to be tormented foRev_er. Then the church will be delivered from all its enemies, and religion henceforward will be triumphant. How long the interval will be between this state and that next disclosed Rev 20:11-15 - the final judgment - is not stated. The eye of the seer glances from one to the other, but there is nothing to forbid the supposition, that, according to the laws of prophetic vision, there may be a long interval in which righteousness shall reign upon the earth. Compare the introduction to Isaiah, section 7, III. (3)- (5).
V. The final judgment, Rev 20:11-15. This closes the "earthly" scene. Henceforward Rev_. 21-22 the scene is transferred to heaven - the abode of the redeemed. The last judgment is the winding up of the earthly affairs. The enemies of the church are all long since destroyed; the world has experienced, perhaps for a long series of ages, the full influence of the gospel; countless million have been, we may suppose, brought under its power; and then at last, in the winding up of human affairs, comes the judgment of the great day, when the dead, small and great, shall stand before God; when the sea shall give up its dead; when death and hell shall give up the dead that are in them; when the records of human actions shall be opened, and all shall be judged according to their works; and when all who are not found written in the book of life shall be cast into the lake of fire. This is the earthly consummation; henceforward the saints shall reign in glory - the New Jerusalem above, Rev_. 21-22.
In order to prepare the way for a proper understanding of this chapter, the following additional remarks may be here made:
(a) The design of this book did not demand a minute detail of the events which would occur in the consummation of human affairs. The main purpose was to trace the history of the church to the scene of the final triumph when all its enemies would be overthrown, and when religion would be permanently established upon the earth. Hence, though in the pRev_ious chapters we have a detailed account of the persecutions that would be endured; of the enemies that would rise up against the church, and of their complete ultimate overthrow - leaving religion triumphant on the earth - yet we have no minute statement of what will occur in the millennium. A rapid view is taken of the closing scenes of the earth's history, and the general results only are stated. It would not be strange, therefore, if there should be much in this that would seem to be enigmatical and obscure, especially as it is now all in the future.
(b) There may be long intervening periods between the events thus thrown together into the final grouping. We are not to suppose necessarily that these events will succeed each other immediately, or that they will be of short duration. Between these events thus hastily sketched, there may be long intervals that are not described, and whose general character is scarcely even glanced at. This results from the very nature of the prophetic vision, as described in the introduction to Isaiah, section 7, III. (3)-(5). This may be illustrated by the view which we have in looking at a landscape. When one is placed in a favorable situation, he can mark distinctly the order of the objects in it - the succession - the grouping. He can tell what objects appear to him to lie near to each other, and are apparently in juxtaposition. But there are objects which, in such a vision, the eye cannot take in, and which would not be exhibited by any description which might be given of the view taken. Hills in the distant view may seem to lie near each other; one may seem to rise just back of another, and to the eye they may seem to constitute parts of the same mountain, and yet between them there may be deep and fertile vales, smiling villages, running streams, beautiful gardens and waterfalls, which the eye cannot take in, and the extent of which it may be wholly impossible to conjecture; and a description of the whole scene, as it appears to the observer, would convey no idea of the actual extent of the intervals. So it is in the prophecies. Between the events which are to occur hereafter, as seen in vision, there may be long intervals, but the length of these intervals the prophet may have left us no means of determining. See these thoughts more fully illustrated in the Introduction to Isaiah, as above referred to.
What is here stated may have occurred in the vision which John had of the future, as described in this chapter. Time is marked in the prophetic description until the fall of the great enemy of the church; beyond that it does not seem to have been regarded as necessary to determine the actual duration of the events referred to. Compare Prof. Stuart, Com. ii. 353, 354.
(c) These views are sustained by the most cursory glance of the chapter before us. There is none of the detail which we have found in the pRev_ious portions of the book - for such detail was not necessary to the accomplishment of the design of the book. The grand purpose was to show that Christianity would finally triumph, and hence the detailed description is carried on until that occurs, and beyond that we have only the most general statements. Thus, in this chapter, the great events that are to occur are merely hinted at. The events of a thousand years; the invasion by Gog and Magog; the ultimate confinement and punishment of Satan; the general judgment - are all crowded into the space of twelve verses. This shows that the distant future is only glanced at by the writer; and we should not wonder, therefore, if it should be found to be obscure, nor should we regard it as strange that much is left to be made clear by the events themselves when they shall occur.
(d) The "end" is triumphant and glorious. We are assured that every enemy of the church will be slain, and that there will be a long period of happiness, prosperity, and peace. "The eye of hope," says Prof. Stuart, beautifully, "is directed forward, and sees the thousand years of uninterrupted prosperity; then the sudden destruction of a new and fatal enemy; and all the rest is left to joyful anticipation. When all clouds are swept from the face of the sky, why should not the sun shine forth in all his glory? I cannot, therefore, doubt that the setting sun of the church on earth is to be as a heaven of unclouded splendor. Peaceful and triumphant will be her latest age. The number of the redeemed will be augmented beyond all computation; and the promise made from the beginning, that 'the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head,' will be fulfilled in all its extent, and with a divine plenitude of meaning. The understanding and pious reader closes the book with admiration, with wonder, with delight, with lofty anticipations of the future, and with undaunted resolution to follow on in the steps of those who, through faith and patience, have inherited the promises, and entered into everlasting rest," vol. 2, pp. 354, 355.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
Rev 20:1, Satan bound for a thousand years; Rev 20:6, The first resurrection; they blessed that have part therein; Rev 20:7, Satan let loose again; Rev 20:8, Gog and Magog; Rev 20:10, The devils cast into the lake of fire and brimstone; Rev 20:12, The last and general resurrection.
John Gill
INTRODUCTION TO REVELATION 20
This chapter contains the binding of Satan, the saints' thousand years' reign with Christ, the loosing of Satan again, the destruction of him, and the Gog and Magog army, and the last judgment: the angel that is to bind Satan is described by his descent from heaven; by his having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand; and by the use he made of them, laying hold on Satan, binding him, casting him into the bottomless pit, and then shutting it up, and setting a seal on him; by all which he will be prevented from deceiving the nations for the space of a thousand years, Rev_ 20:1. After this thrones are seen, with persons on them, to whom judgment is given; who are said to be such as had been martyrs for Jesus, and had not worshipped the beast, or professed his religion; whose happiness is represented by living and reigning with Christ a thousand years, when others will not; the second death will have no power on them; they will be the priests of God, and Christ, and reign with him during the said term, having a part in the first resurrection, Rev_ 20:4. At the expiration of which term Satan will be loosed, and go out of prison, deceive the nations, and gather Gog and Magog to battle; who, being exceeding numerous, will cover the breadth of the earth, encompass the camp and city of the saints, when fire will come down from heaven and destroy them, and Satan will be cast into the lake of fire, where the beast and false prophet are, and be tormented for ever and ever, Rev_ 20:7. And next an account is given of the general Judgment; and the judge is described by the throne he sat on, a white cloud, and by his majesty, which is such, that the heavens and the earth flee from before him, Rev_ 20:11. And next the persons judged are described by their common state, the dead; by their age or condition, great and small, and by their position, standing before God; and then an account of the procedure, or rule of judgment; the books are opened, and the execution of judgment according to what is found in the books, Rev_ 20:12 in order to which the sea, death, and the grave, give up the dead in them, and the two last are cast into the lake, and with them those who are not in the book of life, Rev_ 20:13.
20:120:1: Եւ տեսի ա՛յլ հրեշտակ զի իջանէր յերկնից, եւ ունէր զփականս դժոխոց, եւ շղթայս մե՛ծ ՚ի ձեռին իւրում[5327]. [5327] Ոմանք. Զվիշապն զօձն առաջին... զնա զհազար ամ։
1 Եւ տեսայ մի ուրիշ հրեշտակ, որ իջնում էր երկնքից եւ իր ձեռքին ունէր դժոխքի փականքներն ու մեծ շղթաներ:
20 Յետոյ հրեշտակ մը տեսայ, որ երկնքէն կ’իջնէր ու անդունդին բանալին ու մեծ շղթայ մը ունէր իր ձեռքը։
Եւ տեսի այլ հրեշտակ զի իջանէր յերկնից, եւ ունէր զփականս դժոխոց եւ շղթայս մեծ ի ձեռին իւրում:

20:1: Եւ տեսի ա՛յլ հրեշտակ զի իջանէր յերկնից, եւ ունէր զփականս դժոխոց, եւ շղթայս մե՛ծ ՚ի ձեռին իւրում[5327].
[5327] Ոմանք. Զվիշապն զօձն առաջին... զնա զհազար ամ։
1 Եւ տեսայ մի ուրիշ հրեշտակ, որ իջնում էր երկնքից եւ իր ձեռքին ունէր դժոխքի փականքներն ու մեծ շղթաներ:
20 Յետոյ հրեշտակ մը տեսայ, որ երկնքէն կ’իջնէր ու անդունդին բանալին ու մեծ շղթայ մը ունէր իր ձեռքը։
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
20:11: И увидел я Ангела, сходящего с неба, который имел ключ от бездны и большую цепь в руке своей.
20:1  καὶ εἶδον ἄγγελον καταβαίνοντα ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, ἔχοντα τὴν κλεῖν τῆς ἀβύσσου καὶ ἅλυσιν μεγάλην ἐπὶ τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ.
20:1. Καὶ (And) εἶδον (I-had-seen) ἄγγελον (to-a-messenger) καταβαίνοντα (to-stepping-down) ἐκ (out) τοῦ (of-the-one) οὐρανοῦ, (of-a-sky) ἔχοντα (to-holding) τὴν (to-the-one) κλεῖν (to-a-latch) τῆς (of-the-one) ἀβύσσου (of-depthed-along,"καὶ (and) ἅλυσιν (to-an-un-loosing) μεγάλην (to-great) ἐπὶ (upon) τὴν (to-the-one) χεῖρα (to-a-hand) αὐτοῦ. (of-it)
20:1. et vidi angelum descendentem de caelo habentem clavem abyssi et catenam magnam in manu suaAnd I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
1. And I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand.
And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand:

1: И увидел я Ангела, сходящего с неба, который имел ключ от бездны и большую цепь в руке своей.
20:1  καὶ εἶδον ἄγγελον καταβαίνοντα ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ, ἔχοντα τὴν κλεῖν τῆς ἀβύσσου καὶ ἅλυσιν μεγάλην ἐπὶ τὴν χεῖρα αὐτοῦ.
20:1. et vidi angelum descendentem de caelo habentem clavem abyssi et catenam magnam in manu sua
And I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
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А. П. Лопухин: Tолковая Библия или комментарий на все книги Св.Писания Ветхого и Нового Заветов - 1903-1914
1: Некоторые толкователи под Ангелом, сходящим с неба, видят Самого Иисуса Христа, но большинство считает его за обыкновенного Ангела, как вестника и исполнителя Бож. воли. И это тем более справедливо, что тайнозритель не придал ему никаких атрибутов славы и величия. Этому Ангелу в исполнении его миссии предоставляется только связать диавола и заключить его в темницу, бездну.
Matthew Henry: Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible - 1706
The Binding of Satan.A. D. 95.
1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. 2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, 3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. 4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. 7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. 10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

We have here, I. A prophecy of the binding of Satan for a certain term of time, in which he should have much less power and the church much more peace than before. The power of Satan was broken in part by the setting up of the gospel kingdom in the world; it was further reduced by the empire's becoming Christian; it was yet further broken by the downfall of the mystical Babylon; but still this serpent had many heads, and, when one is wounded, another has life remaining in it. Here we have a further limitation and diminution of his power. Observe, 1. To whom this work of binding Satan is committed--to an angel from heaven. It is very probable that this angel is no other than the Lord Jesus Christ; the description of him will hardly agree with any other. He is one who has power to bind the strong man armed, to cast him out, and to spoil his goods; and therefore must be stronger than he. 2. The means he makes use of in this work: he has a chain and a key, a great chain to bind Satan, and the key of the prison in which he was to be confined. Christ never wants proper powers and instruments to break the power of Satan, for he has the powers of heaven and the keys of hell. 3. The execution of this work, v. 2, 3. (1.) He laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the devil, and Satan. Neither the strength of the dragon, nor the subtlety of the serpent, was sufficient to rescue him out of the hands of Christ; he caught hold, and kept his hold. And, (2.) He cast him into the bottomless pit, cast him down with force, and with a just vengeance, to his own place and prison, from which he had been permitted to break out, and disturb the churches, and deceive the nations; now he is brought back to that prison, and there laid in chains. (3.) He is shut up, and a seal set upon him. Christ shuts, and none can open; he shuts by his power, seals by his authority; and his lock and seal even the devils themselves cannot break open. (4.) We have the term of this confinement of Satan--a thousand years, after which he was to be loosed again for a little season. The church should have a considerable time of peace and prosperity, but all her trials were not yet over.

II. An account of the reign of the saints for the same space of time in which Satan continued bound (v. 4-6), and here observe,

1. Who those were that received such honour--those who had suffered for Christ, and all who had faithfully adhered to him, not receiving the mark of the beast, nor worshipping his image; all who had kept themselves clear of pagan and papal idolatry.

2. The honour bestowed upon them. (1.) They were raised from the dead, and restored to life. This may be taken either literally or figuratively; they were in a civil and political sense dead, and had a political resurrection; their liberties and privileges were revived and restored. (2.) Thrones, and power of judgment, were given to them; they were possessed of great honour, and interest, and authority, I suppose rather of a spiritual than of a secular nature. (3.) They reigned with Christ a thousand years. Those who suffer with Christ shall reign with Christ; they shall reign with him in his spiritual and heavenly kingdom, in a glorious conformity to him in wisdom, righteousness, and holiness, beyond what had been known before in the world. This is called the first resurrection, which none but those who have served Christ and suffered for him shall be favoured with. As for the wicked, they shall not be raised up and restored to their power again, till Satan be let loose; this may be called a resurrection, as the conversion of the Jews is said to be life from the dead.

3. The happiness of these servants of God is declared. (1.) They are blessed and holy, v. 6. None can be blessed but those that are holy; and all that are holy shall be blessed. These were holy as a sort of first-fruits to God in this spiritual resurrection, and as such blessed by him. (2.) They are secured from the power of the second death. We know something of what the first death is, and it is awful; but we know not what this second death is. It must be much more dreadful; it is the death of the soul, eternal separation from God. The Lord grant we may never know what it is by experience. Those who have had experience of a spiritual resurrection are saved from the power of the second death.

III. An account of the return of the church's troubles, and another mighty conflict, very sharp, but short and decisive. Observe, 1. The restraints laid for a long time on Satan are at length taken off. While this world lasts, Satan's power in it will not be wholly destroyed; it may be limited and lessened, but he will have something still to do for the disturbance of the people of God. 2. No sooner is Satan let loose than he falls to his old work, deceiving the nations, and so stirring them up to make a war with the saints and servants of God, which they would never do if he had not first deceived them. They are deceived both as to the cause they engage in (they believe it to be a good cause when it is indeed a very bad one), and as to the issue: they expect to be successful, but are sure to lose the day. 3. His last efforts seem to be the greatest. The power now permitted to him seems to be more unlimited than before. He had now liberty to beat up for his volunteers in all the four quarters of the earth, and he raised a mighty army, the number of which was as the sand of the sea, v. 8. 4. We have the names of the principal commanders in this army under the dragon--Gog and Magog. We need not be too inquisitive as to what particular powers are meant by these names, since the army was gathered from all parts of the world. These names are found in other parts of scripture. Magog we read of in Gen. x. 2. He was one of the sons of Japheth, and peopled the country called Syria, from which his descendants spread into many other parts. Of Gog and Magog together we only read in Ezek. xxxviii. 2, a prophecy whence this in Revelation borrows many of its images. 5. We have the march and military disposition of this formidable army (v. 9): They went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city, that is, the spiritual Jerusalem, in which the most precious interests of the people of God are lodged, and therefore to them a beloved city. The army of the saints is described as drawn forth out of the city, and lying under the walls of it, to defend it; they were encamped about Jerusalem: but the army of the enemy was so much superior to that of the church that they compassed them and their city about. 6. You have an account of the battle, and the issue of this war: Fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured the enemy. Thus the ruin of Gog and Magog is foretold (Ezek. xxxviii. 22), I will rain upon him and upon his bands an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, and fire and brimstone. God would, in an extraordinary and more immediate manner, fight this last and decisive battle for his people, that the victory might be complete and the glory redound to himself. 7. The doom and punishment of the grand enemy, the devil: he is now cast into hell, with his two great officers, the beast and the false prophet, tyranny and idolatry, and that not for any term of time, but to be there tormented night and day, for ever and ever.
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
20:1: An angel came down from heaven - One of the executors of the Divine justice, who receives criminals, and keeps them in prison, and delivers them up only to be tried and executed.
The key of the prison and the chain show who he is; and as the chain was great, it shows that the culprit was impeached of no ordinary crimes.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
20:1: And I saw an angel come down from heaven - Compare the notes on Rev 10:1. He does not say whether this angel had appeared to him before, but the impression is rather that it was a different one. The whole character of the composition of the book leads us to suppose that different angels were employed to make these communications to John, and that, in fact, in the progress of things disclosed in the book, he had contact with a considerable number of the heavenly inhabitants. The scene that is recorded here occurred after the destruction of the beast and the false prophet Rev 19:18-21, and therefore, according to the principles expressed in the explanation of the pRev_ious chapters, what is intended to be described here will take place after the final destruction of the papal and Muhammedan powers.
Having the key of the bottomless pit - See the notes on Rev 1:18; Rev 9:1. The fact that he has the key of that underworld is designed to denote here, that he can fasten it on Satan so that it shall become his prison.
And a great chain in his hand - With which to bind the dragon, Rev 20:2. It is called great because of the strength of him that was to be bound. The chain only appears to have been in his hand. Perhaps the key was suspended to his side.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
20:1: I saw: Rev 10:1, Rev 18:1
having: Rev 1:18, Rev 9:1, Rev 9:2; Luk 8:31
a great: Pe2 2:4; Jde 1:6
Geneva 1599
20:1 And (1) I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key (2) of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
(1) Now follows the third part of the prophetic history, which is of the victory by which Christ overcame the dragon, as I noted in (Rev_ 7:1). This part must necessarily be joined with the end of the twelfth chapter and be applied to the correct understanding of it. This chapter has two parts, one of the dragon overcome, to (Rev_ 20:2-10): the other of the resurrection and last judgment to (Rev_ 20:11-15). The story of the dragon is twofold: First of the first victory, after which he was bound by Christ, to the sixth verse (Rev_ 20:1-6). The second is of the last victory, by which he has thrown down into everlasting punishment, there to the fifteenth verse (Rev_ 20:7-15). This first history happened in the first time of the Christian Church, when the dragon thrown down from heaven by Christ, went about to molest the new birth of the Church in the earth, (Rev_ 12:17, Rev_ 18:1). For which cause I gave warning, that this story of the dragon must be joined to that passage. (2) That is, of hell, where God threw the angels who had sinned, and bound them in chains of darkness to be kept till damnation, (2Pet 2:4)
John Gill
20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven,.... All Christ's enemies, and Satan's instruments being removed, the devil is left alone, and only stands in the way of Christ's kingdom; and what will be done to him, and how he will be in the issue disposed of, this vision gives an account: by the "angel" John saw, is not to be understood Constantine the great; for though he is the man child that was taken up to God, and his throne, being advanced to the empire, yet he cannot, with that propriety, be said to come down from heaven; and though he vanquished the Heathen emperors, in which the dragon presided, and cast Paganism out of the empire, by which the devil ruled in it, yet the binding of Satan is another kind of work, and seems too great for him; and besides, did not take place in his time, as will be seen hereafter: nor is an apostle, or a minister of the Gospel intended; such are indeed called angels in this book, and may be said to come down from heaven, because they have their commission from thence; and particularly the apostles had the keys of the kingdom of heaven, but not the key of the bottomless pit; and a chain and system of Gospel truths, which they made good use of for the establishing of Christ's kingdom, and weakening of Satan's, but not such a chain as is here meant; and they had the power of binding and loosing, or of declaring things lawful or unlawful, but not of binding and loosing of Satan; nor was he bound in the apostolic age: nor is one of the ministering spirits, or a deputation of angels designed; for though Christ will be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, and will make use of them, both to gather together his elect, and to cast the wicked into the lake of fire, yet not to bind Satan; but the Lord Jesus Christ himself is this angel, who is the angel of God's presence, and of the covenant; and who is in this book called an angel, Rev_ 7:2 to whom all the characters here well agree, and to whom the work of binding Satan most properly belongs; for who so fit to do it, or so capable of it, as the seed of the woman, that has bruised serpent's head, or as the Son of God, who was manifested to destroy the works of the devil, yea, to destroy him himself; and who dispossessed multitudes of devils from the bodies of men, and is the strong man armed that dislodges Satan from the souls of men, and is the same with Michael, who drove him from heaven, and cast him out from thence before, Rev_ 12:7. And his coming down from heaven is not to be understood of his incarnation, or of his coming from thence by the assumption of human nature; for Satan was not bound by him then, as will be seen hereafter; but of his second coming, which will be from heaven, where he now is, and will be local, visible, and personal: of no other coming of his does this book speak, as seen by John, or as future; nor will the order of this vision, after the ruin of the beast and false prophet, admit of any other.
Having the key of the bottomless pit: the abyss or deep, the same out of which the beast ascended, Rev_ 11:7. And the key of this becomes no hand so well as his who has the keys of hell and death, Rev_ 1:18 who has all power in heaven and in earth, and has the power of hell, of opening and shutting it at his pleasure, which is signified by this phase; see Rev_ 9:1. The Ethiopic version reads, "the key of the sun", where some have thought hell to be; and yet the same version renders the word, the deep, in Rev_ 20:3.
And a great chain in his hand; the key in one hand, and the chain in another; by which last is meant, not any material chain, with which spirits cannot be bound, nor indeed sometimes bodies possessed by evil spirits, Mk 5:3 but the almighty power of Christ, which he will now display in binding Satan faster and closer than ever.
John Wesley
20:1 And I saw an angel decending out of heaven - Coming down with a commission from God. Jesus Christ himself overthrew the beast: the proud dragon shall be bound by an angel; even as he and his angels were cast out of heaven by Michael and his angels. Having the key of the bottomless pit - Mentioned before, Rev_ 9:1. And a great chain in his hand - The angel of the bottomless pit was shut up therein before the beginning of the first woe. But it is now first that Satan, after he had occasioned the third woe, is both chained and shut up.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
20:1 SATAN BOUND, AND THE FIRST-RISEN SAINTS REIGN WITH CHRIST, A THOUSAND YEARS; SATAN LOOSED, GATHERS THE NATIONS, GOG AND MAGOG, ROUND THE CAMP OF THE SAINTS, AND IS FINALLY CONSIGNED TO THE LAKE OF FIRE; THE GENERAL RESURRECTION AND LAST JUDGMENT. (Rev_ 20:1-15)
The destruction of his representatives, the beast and the false prophet, to whom he had given his power, throne, and authority, is followed by the binding of Satan himself for a thousand years.
the key of the bottomless pit--now transferred from Satan's hands, who had heretofore been permitted by God to use it in letting loose plagues on the earth; he is now to be made to feel himself the torment which he had inflicted on men, but his full torment is not until he is cast into "the lake of fire" (Rev_ 20:10).
20:220:2: եւ ըմբռնեա՛ց զվիշապն զառաջին, որ է Բանսարկուն եւ Սատանայ, եւ կապեաց զնա հազա՛ր ամ:
2 Եւ բռնեց վիշապին՝ հին օձին, որ է բանսարկուն եւ Սատանան. եւ հազար տարով կապեց նրան:
2 Ան բռնեց վիշապը, այսինքն առաջին օձը որ Բանսարկուն ու Սատանան է եւ կապեց զանիկա հազար տարի
եւ ըմբռնեաց զվիշապն, զօձն առաջին, որ է Բանսարկուն եւ Սատանայ, եւ կապեաց զնա հազար ամ:

20:2: եւ ըմբռնեա՛ց զվիշապն զառաջին, որ է Բանսարկուն եւ Սատանայ, եւ կապեաց զնա հազա՛ր ամ:
2 Եւ բռնեց վիշապին՝ հին օձին, որ է բանսարկուն եւ Սատանան. եւ հազար տարով կապեց նրան:
2 Ան բռնեց վիշապը, այսինքն առաջին օձը որ Բանսարկուն ու Սատանան է եւ կապեց զանիկա հազար տարի
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
20:22: Он взял дракона, змия древнего, который есть диавол и сатана, и сковал его на тысячу лет,
20:2  καὶ ἐκράτησεν τὸν δράκοντα, ὁ ὄφις ὁ ἀρχαῖος, ὅς ἐστιν διάβολος καὶ ὁ σατανᾶς, καὶ ἔδησεν αὐτὸν χίλια ἔτη,
20:2. καὶ (And) ἐκράτησεν (it-secured-unto) τὸν (to-the-one) δράκοντα, (to-a-serpent," ὁ ( the-one ) ὄφις ( a-snake ) ὁ (the-one) ἀρχαῖος, (first-belonged) ὅς (which) ἐστιν (it-be) Διάβολος ( casted-through ) καὶ (and) Ὁ ( the-one ) Σατανᾶς , ( a-satanas ,"καὶ (and) ἔδησεν (it-binded) αὐτὸν (to-it) χίλια ( to-thousand ) ἔτη, (to-years,"
20:2. et adprehendit draconem serpentem antiquum qui est diabolus et Satanas et ligavit eum per annos milleAnd he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.
2. And he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years,
And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years:

2: Он взял дракона, змия древнего, который есть диавол и сатана, и сковал его на тысячу лет,
20:2  καὶ ἐκράτησεν τὸν δράκοντα, ὁ ὄφις ὁ ἀρχαῖος, ὅς ἐστιν διάβολος καὶ ὁ σατανᾶς, καὶ ἔδησεν αὐτὸν χίλια ἔτη,
20:2. et adprehendit draconem serpentem antiquum qui est diabolus et Satanas et ligavit eum per annos mille
And he laid hold on the dragon, the old serpent, which is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.
ru▾ el▾ el-en-gloss▾ vulgate▾ erva_1895▾
jfb▾ jw▾ jg▾ gnv▾ tr▾ ab▾ ac▾ all ▾
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
20:2: The dragon - See the notes on Rev 12:9.
That old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan - He who is called the old serpent is the Devil - the calumniator, and Satan - the opposer. He who supposes that the term old serpent here plainly proves that the creature that tempted our first parents was actually a snake, must enjoy his opinion; and those who can receive such a saying, why let them receive it. Selah.
A thousand years - In what this binding of Satan consists, who can tell? How many visions have been seen on this subject both in ancient and modern times! This, and what is said Rev 20:3-5, no doubt refers to a time in which the influence of Satan will be greatly restrained, and the true Church of God enjoy great prosperity, which shall endure for a long time. But it is not likely that the number, a thousand years, is to be taken literally here, and year symbolically and figuratively in all the book beside. The doctrine of the millennium, or of the saints reigning on earth a thousand years, with Christ for their head, has been illustrated and defended by many Christian writers, both among the ancients and moderns. Were I to give a collection of the conceits of the primitive fathers on this subject, my readers would have little reason to applaud my pains. It has long been the idle expectation of many persons that the millennium, in their sense, was at hand; and its commencement has been expected in every century since the Christian era. It has been fixed for several different years, during the short period of my own life! I believed those predictions to be vain, and I have lived to see them such. Yet there is no doubt that the earth is in a state of progressive moral improvement; and that the light of true religion is shining more copiously everywhere, and will shine more and more to the perfect day. But when the religion of Christ will be at its meridian of light and heat, we know not. In each believer this may speedily take place; but probably no such time shall ever appear, in which evil shall be wholly banished from the earth, till after the day of judgment, when the earth having been burnt up, a new heaven and a new earth shall be produced out of the ruins of the old, by the mighty power of God: righteousness alone shall dwell in them. The phraseology of the apostle here seems partly taken from the ancient prophets, and partly rabbinical; and it is from the Jewish use of those terms that we are to look for their interpretation.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
20:2: And he laid hold on - Seized him by violence - ἐκράτησεν ekratē sen. The word denotes "the employment of strength" or "force"; and it implies that he had power superior to that of the dragon. Compare Mat 14:3; Mat 18:28; Mat 21:46; Mat 22:6; Mat 26:4. We can at once see the propriety of the use of this word in this connection. The great enemy to be bound has himself mighty power, and can be overcome only by a superior. This may teach us that it is only a power from heaven that can destroy the empire of Satan in the world; and perhaps it may teach us that the interposition of angels will be employed in bringing in the glorious state of the millennium. Why should it not be?
The dragon - See the notes on Rev 12:2. Compare Rev 12:4, Rev 12:7, Rev 12:13, Rev 12:16-17; Rev 13:2, Rev 13:4, Rev 13:11; Rev 16:13. There can be no doubt as to the meaning of the word here; for it is expressly said to mean the devil, and Satan. It would seem, however, that it refers to some manifestation of the power of Satan that would exist after the beast and false prophet - that is, the papacy and Mohammedanism - should be destroyed, and probably the main reference is to the still existing power of paganism. Compare the notes on Rev 16:13-14. It may include, however, all the forms of wickedness which Satan shall have kept upon the earth, and all the modes of evil by which he will endeavor to perpetuate his reign.
That old serpent - This is undoubtedly an allusion to the serpent that deceived our first parents (Gen 3:1 ff.), and therefore a proof that it was Satan that, under the form of a serpent, deceived them. Compare notes on Rev 12:3.
Which is the devil - On the meaning of this word, see the notes on Mat 4:1.
And Satan - On the meaning of this word, see the notes on Job 1:6. In regard to the repetition of the names of that great enemy of God and the church here, Mr. Taylor, in the Fragments to Calmet's Dictionary, No. 152, says that this "almost resembles a modern Old Bailey indictment, in which special care is taken to identify the culprit, by a sufficient number of aliases. An angel from heaven, having the key of the prison of the abyss, and a great chain to secure the prisoner, 'apprehended the dragon, alias the old serpent, alias the devil, alias the Satan, alias the seducer of the world,' who was sentenced to a thousand years' imprisonment." The object here, however, seems to be not so much to identify the culprit by these aliases, as to show that under whatever forms, and by whatever names he had appeared, it was always the same being, and that now the author of the whole evil would be arrested. Thus the one great enemy sometimes has appeared in a form that would be best represented by a fierce and fiery dragon; at another, in a form that would be best represented by a cunning and subtle serpent; now in a form to which the word "devil" ("accuser"), would be most appropriate; and now in a form in which the word "Satan" - an adversary - would be most expressive of what he does. In these various forms, and under these various names, he has ruled the fallen world; and when this one great enemy shall be seized and imprisoned, all these forms of evil will, of course, come to an end.
A thousand years - This is the period usually designated as the millennium - for the word "millennium" means "a thousand years." It is on this passage that the whole doctrine of the millennium as such has been founded. It is true that there are elsewhere in the Scriptures abundant promises that the gospel will ultimately spread over the world; but the notion of a millennium as such is found in this passage alone. It is, however, enough to establish the doctrine, if its meaning be correctly ascertained; for it is a just rule in interpreting the Bible, that the clearly-ascertained sense of a single passage of Scripture is sufficient to establish the truth of a doctrine. The fact, however, that this passage stands alone in this respect, makes it the more important to endeavor accurately to determine its meaning. There are but three ways in which the phrase "a thousand years" can be understood here: either:
(a) literally; or,
(b) in the prophetic use of the term, where a day would stand for a year, thus making a period of three hundred and sixty thousand years; or,
(c) figuratively, supposing that it refers to a long but indefinite period of time.
It may be impossible to determine which of these periods is intended, though the first has been generally supposed to be the true one, and hence the common notion of the millennium. There is nothing, however, in the use of the language here, as there would be nothing contrary to the common use of symbols in this book in regard to time, in the supposition that this was designed to describe the longest period here suggested, or that it is meant that the world shall enjoy a reign of peace and righteousness during the long period of three hundred and sixty thousand years. Indeed, there are somethings in the arrangements of nature which look as if it were contemplated that the earth would continue under a reign of righteousness through a vastly long period in the future.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
20:2: he laid: Gen 3:15; Isa 27:1, Isa 49:24, Isa 49:25; Mat 8:29, Mat 19:29; Mar 5:7; Luk 11:20-22; Joh 12:31, Joh 16:11; Rom 16:20; Heb 2:14
the dragon: Rev 9:11, Rev 12:9, Rev 12:13, Rev 12:15, Rev 12:17, Rev 13:2, Rev 13:4; Job 1:7, Job 2:1, Job 2:2; Pe1 5:8; Pe2 2:4; Jde 1:6
Geneva 1599
20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him (3) a thousand years,
(3) The first of which (continuing this history with the end of the second chapter) in the 36 years from the passion of Christ, when the Church of the Jews being overthrown, Satan attempted to invade the Christian church gathered from the Gentiles, and to destroy part of her seed, (Rev_ 12:17). The thousandth year falls precisely on the times of that wicked Hildebrand, who was called Gregory the seventh, a most damnable necromancer and sorcerer, whom Satan used as an instrument when he was loosed out of bonds, from then on to annoy the saints of God with most cruel persecutions, and the whole world with dissentions, and most bloody wars: as Benno the Cardinal reports at large. This is the first victory gained over the dragon in the earth.
John Gill
20:2 By whom is meant not Paganism, for that was destroyed in the Roman empire under the sixth seal, and was the consequence of the war between Michael and his angels, and the dragon and his; and before this time it will be destroyed in other parts under the sixth and seventh vials, when the kings of the earth, being gathered together at Armageddon, will be slain, and the cities of the nations will fall, not only Papal, but Pagan, and Mahometan; and what will not will be converted, for before this time the kingdoms of this world will become the kingdoms of Christ: but the devil himself is intended, so called, partly because of his great power, authority, and cruelty he has exercised in the world; and because of the venom and poison of idolatry, superstition, false doctrine, and worship, with which he has infected the inhabitants of it.
That old serpent; so called with respect to his cunning and subtlety, as well as his antiquity, being from the beginning of the creation, and having as early beguiled our first parents;
which is the devil and Satan; the accuser of God and men, and the adversary of them both. The Complutensian edition and Syriac version add, "which deceiveth the whole world"; and the Arabic version, "the deceiver of the whole world"; which seems to be taken out of Rev_ 12:9, See Gill on Rev_ 12:9. Him Christ "laid hold on", and whom he held fast, as the word signifies: Christ will now take him, apprehend him, and detain him, as his prisoner; in the wilderness, Satan only felt the dint of his sword, the written word of God, and was obliged to leave him: but now he will feel the weight of his hand, and the lighting down of his arm, with the indignation of his anger; in the agony or conflict with him in the garden, he was conquered by prayer; and on the cross Christ destroyed him through death, but now he will be seized by his power, and crushed under his hand.
And bound him a thousand years, with the great chain he had in his hand: the devil is in chains now, is under the power of divine Providence, and can do nothing without divine permission; but this chain is long, and he appears oftentimes to have great liberty, and ranges about the air and earth, and does much mischief; but now he will be so bound by the power of Christ over him, that he will not be able to stir hand or foot, to disturb the saints, or deceive the nations, whether with false worship, and false doctrine, or by stirring them up to persecute the saints. So of the devil, Asmodaeus, it is said in the Apocrypha,
"And Raphael was sent to heal them both, that is, to scale away the whiteness of Tobit's eyes, and to give Sara the daughter of Raguel for a wife to Tobias the son of Tobit; and to bind Asmodeus the evil spirit; because she belonged to Tobias by right of inheritance. The selfsame time came Tobit home, and entered into his house, and Sara the daughter of Raguel came down from her upper chamber.'' (Tobit 3:17)
that the angel Raphael, "bound him". The space of a thousand years is not a certain number for an uncertain, or a large and indeterminate space of time, as in Ps 90:4 these years are to be taken, not indefinitely, but definitely, for just this number of years exactly, as appears from their having the article prefixed to them; and are called afterwards, no less than four times, , "the thousand years", or these thousand years, Rev_ 20:3 and from the things which are attributed to the beginning and ending of these years, which fix the epoch, and period of them; as the binding of Satan, when they begin, and the loosing of him when they end, as well as the reign of the saints with Christ during the whole time; to which may be added, the resurrection of the saints at the commencement of them, and the resurrection of the wicked at the close: but the great question is, whether they are begun or not? if they are begun, when they began; and if not, when they will. Some think that they began either at the birth of Christ, or at his resurrection, or at the destruction of Jerusalem. I put these together, because they were all in one century, within the compass of seventy years, or thereabout; so that if the thousand years began at either of them, they must end in the same century, in 1100. Now though, upon Christ's coming Satan fell like lightning from heaven, and multitudes of men, possessed with devils, were dispossessed by Christ, and he that had the power of death, the devil, was destroyed by him; and upon the preaching of the Gospel by the apostles in the Gentile world, the prince of the world was cast out, his oracles were struck dumb, multitudes were converted, and churches were set up everywhere, yet still Satan was not bound: he was not bound before the death of Christ; witness the many bodies of men possessed by him; his tempting Christ himself in the wilderness; his attacks upon him in the garden, and on the cross; his putting it into the heart of Judas to betray him; and filling the chief priests and scribes with malice and envy against him, to seek his death, which they brought about: nor was he bound, so as not to deceive the Jews, either before or after the death of Christ, nor is he to this day; they were in Christ's time under the influence of their father the devil, whose lust they would do, and did, in putting Christ to death; and after his death, they were instigated by Satan to persecute his apostles in Judea, and elsewhere; and though after the destruction of Jerusalem they had no more power to act in this way, yet they had no less ill will and malice against the Christians, and are to this day filled with enmity against them, and are led captive by Satan, and given up to believe a lie, that the Messiah is not come, and to reject the true Messiah, and to expect a false one: and as for the Heathen world, notwithstanding the progress of the Gospel in it, yet for the first three hundred years Paganism was the established religion of the Roman empire; and Christianity was everywhere spoken against, despised, and persecuted, and sometimes triumphed over, as if it was extinct; and Satan could never be said to be bound, and in prison himself, when he cast such multitudes into prison, and caused them to have tribulation ten days, Rev_ 2:10 in which so many martyrs suffered; nor did Satan appear to be bound, with respect to the church; the mystery of iniquity began to work in the apostle's times, and there were then many antichrists in the world, deceivers, false teachers and heretics; there was a synagogue of Satan, Rev_ 2:9 and such a set of vile persons under the name of Christians, as scarce ever was in the world; to which may be added, the great decline of love, and other graces, and of the purity of doctrine and worship in the best churches, and the many contentions among themselves, in which Satan had a great hand, and therefore could not be bound: moreover, some hundreds of years before the thousand years ended, beginning from either of the above dates, the man of sin, the son of perdition, the pope, or western antichrist, was revealed, whose coming is after the working of Satan, Th2 2:9 and therefore surely he could not be bound then; besides, Mahomet, the eastern antichrist, sprung up, who opened the bottomless pit, and let out the smoke of it, by the Alcoran he delivered, and the false worship he set up: nor was there anything in the eleventh century, which answered to the loosing of Satan, to the Gog and Magog army, their war with the saints, and the issue of it; nor were the nations then more deceived than they had been in some centuries past; at least they were deceived in centuries past, both by the pope and Mahomet, which they would not have been, had Satan been bound then: to which may be subjoined, that if Satan was loosed, then he cannot be said to be loosed a little season, as in Rev_ 20:3 in comparison of the thousand years, as that must be understood; since it is now between six and seven hundred years since, which is more than half a thousand years. Others begin these years at Constantine's coming to the imperial throne; but though there was at that time a great spread of the Gospel, an enlargement of Christ's kingdom, and a weakening of Satan's, yet Satan was far from being bound; see Rev_ 12:7 witness the flood of errors and heresies which he quickly brought in, as the Eutychian and Nestorian heresies, the one confounding the natures, the other dividing the person of Christ; the Pelagian heresy, which obscured the grace of God, and advanced the free will of man; the Macedonian heresy, which denied the divinity of the Spirit: and especially the Arian heresy, which was opposed to the deity of Christ, and which introduced great contentions and confusion the churches, and issued in a violent persecution of them, being embraced by the sons of Constantine: not to take notice of Julian, an Heathen emperor, ascending the throne, who by many devilish arts endeavoured to extirpate Christianity; nor what has been observed before, the rise of both Mahomet in the east, and the Romish antichrist in the west, which were both within this period; in process of time the western empire was overrun by the Goths and Vandals, and the eastern empire by the Saracens and Turks; to which may be added, the violent persecutions of the Waldenses and Albigenses, before the year 1300, about which time the thousand years must cease, according to this computation, for opposing the pope of Rome, and who were slain where Satan had his seat, Rev_ 2:13 and therefore not bound; nor was there anything happened in that century which might answer to the loosing of him. Others date these thousand years from the Reformation, and so not much more than two hundred of them are yet passed; but that Satan was not bound then, and is not now, is manifest. All the Popish nations have not been reformed, but still remain under the deception; and some, that have been, have revolted again; and the devil has continued to deceive the nations with that false worship, and to stir them up to persecute the reformed. Witness the burning of them here in Queen Mary's days, the massacres in France and Ireland, the present inquisition in Spain and Portugal, and the persecution of the Hugonots in France, and other Protestants elsewhere: and this is further evident from the decline in the reformed churches, both as to doctrine, discipline, and conversation; from the spread of errors and heresies of all kinds ever since, and especially in our age; and from the general profaneness and infidelity of the times, which, when considered, no man in his senses can ever think that Satan is bound; nor indeed will he be bound, or these thousand years begin, till after the conversion of the Jews, and the bringing in the fulness of the Gentiles, and the destruction of all the antichristian powers, Pagan, Papal, and Mahometan, as appears from the order of this vision, and its connection with the preceding chapter.
John Wesley
20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon - With whom undoubtedly his angels were now cast into the bottomless pit, as well as finally "into everlasting fire," Mt 25:41. And bound him a thousand years - That these thousand do not precede, or run parallel with, but wholly follow, the times of the beast, may manifestly appear, 1. From the series of the whole book, representing one continued chain of events. 2. From the circumstances which precede. The woman's bringing forth is followed by the casting of the dragon out of heaven to the earth. With this is connected the third woe, whereby the dragon through, and with, the beast, rages horribly. At the conclusion of the third woe the beast is overthrown and cast into "the lake of fire." At the same time the other grand enemy, the dragon, shall be bound and shut up. 3. These thousand years bring a new, full, and lasting immunity from all outward and inward evils, the authors of which are now removed, and an affluence of all blessings. But such time the church has never yet seen. Therefore it is still to come. 4. These thousand years are followed by the last times of the world, the letting loose of Satan, who gathers together Gog and Magog, and is thrown to the beast and false prophet "in the lake of fire." Now Satan's accusing the saints in heaven, his rage on earth, his imprisonment in the abyss, his seducing Gog and Magog, and being cast into the lake of fire, evidently succeed each other. 5. What occurs from Rev. 20:11-22:5, manifestly follows the things related in the nineteenth chapter. The thousand years came between; whereas if they were past, neither the beginning nor the end of them would fall within this period. In a short time those who assert that they are now at hand will appear to have spoken the truth. Meantime let every man consider what kind of happiness he expects therein. The danger does not lie in maintaining that the thousand years are yet to come; but in interpreting them, whether past or to come, in a gross and carnal sense. The doctrine of the Son of God is a mystery. So is his cross; and so is his glory. In all these he is a sign that is spoken against. Happy they who believe and confess him in all!
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
20:2 that old--ancient serpent (Rev_ 12:9).
thousand years--As seven mystically implies universality, so a thousand implies perfection, whether in good or evil [AQUINAS on ch. 11]. Thousand symbolizes that the world is perfectly leavened and pervaded by the divine; since thousand is ten, the number of the world, raised to the third power, three being the number of God [AUBERLEN]. It may denote literally also a thousand years.
20:320:3: Եւ ա՛րկ զնա յանդունդս դժոխոց, եւ փակեաց եւ կնքեա՛ց զնա՝ զի այլ մի՛ եւս մոլորեցուսցէ զազգս, մինչեւ կատարեսցի հազա՛ր ամն. եւ յետ այնորիկ պա՛րտ է լուծանել նմա սակա՛ւ մի ժամանակ[5328]:[5328] Ոմանք. Լուծանիլ նմա սակաւ ժամանակս։
3 Նրան գցեց դժոխքի անդունդների մէջ եւ փակեց ու կնիք դրեց նրա վրայ, որպէսզի այլեւս երբեք չմոլորեցնի ազգերին, մինչեւ որ լրանայ հազար տարին: Եւ այնուհետեւ պէտք է, որ նա արձակուի մի փոքր ժամանակով:
3 Ու անդունդը ձգեց զանիկա եւ գոցեց ու վրայէն կնքեց, որ ա՛լ չմոլորեցնէ ազգերը՝ մինչեւ հազար տարին լմննայ։ Անկէ ետքը պիտի արձակուի անիկա կարճ ժամանակուան մը համար։
Եւ արկ զնա յանդունդս [303]դժոխոց, եւ փակեաց եւ կնքեաց [304]զնա, զի այլ մի՛ եւս մոլորեցուսցէ զազգս, մինչեւ կատարեսցի հազար ամն. եւ յետ այնորիկ պարտ է լուծանել նմա սակաւ մի ժամանակ:

20:3: Եւ ա՛րկ զնա յանդունդս դժոխոց, եւ փակեաց եւ կնքեա՛ց զնա՝ զի այլ մի՛ եւս մոլորեցուսցէ զազգս, մինչեւ կատարեսցի հազա՛ր ամն. եւ յետ այնորիկ պա՛րտ է լուծանել նմա սակա՛ւ մի ժամանակ[5328]:
[5328] Ոմանք. Լուծանիլ նմա սակաւ ժամանակս։
3 Նրան գցեց դժոխքի անդունդների մէջ եւ փակեց ու կնիք դրեց նրա վրայ, որպէսզի այլեւս երբեք չմոլորեցնի ազգերին, մինչեւ որ լրանայ հազար տարին: Եւ այնուհետեւ պէտք է, որ նա արձակուի մի փոքր ժամանակով:
3 Ու անդունդը ձգեց զանիկա եւ գոցեց ու վրայէն կնքեց, որ ա՛լ չմոլորեցնէ ազգերը՝ մինչեւ հազար տարին լմննայ։ Անկէ ետքը պիտի արձակուի անիկա կարճ ժամանակուան մը համար։
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
20:33: и низверг его в бездну, и заключил его, и положил над ним печать, дабы не прельщал уже народы, доколе не окончится тысяча лет; после же сего ему должно быть освобожденным на малое время.
20:3  καὶ ἔβαλεν αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν ἄβυσσον καὶ ἔκλεισεν καὶ ἐσφράγισεν ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ ἵνα μὴ πλανήσῃ ἔτι τὰ ἔθνη ἄχρι τελεσθῇ τὰ χίλια ἔτη· μετὰ ταῦτα δεῖ λυθῆναι αὐτὸν μικρὸν χρόνον.
20:3. καὶ (and) ἔβαλεν (it-had-casted) αὐτὸν (to-it) εἰς (into) τὴν (to-the-one) ἄβυσσον, (to-depthed-along,"καὶ (and) ἔκλεισεν (it-latched) καὶ (and) ἐσφράγισεν (it-sealed-to) ἐπάνω (upon-up-unto-which) αὐτοῦ, (of-it,"ἵνα (so) μὴ (lest) πλανήσῃ (it-might-have-wandered-unto) ἔτι (if-to-a-one) τὰ (to-the-ones) ἔθνη, (to-nations) ἄχρι (unto-whilst) τελεσθῇ (it-might-have-been-finished-unto) τὰ (the-ones) χίλια ( thousand ) ἔτη: (years) μετὰ (with) ταῦτα (to-the-ones-these) δεῖ (it-bindeth) λυθῆναι (to-have-been-loosed) αὐτὸν (to-it) μικρὸν (to-small) χρόνον. (to-an-interim)
20:3. et misit eum in abyssum et clusit et signavit super illum ut non seducat amplius gentes donec consummentur mille anni post haec oportet illum solvi modico temporeAnd he cast him into the bottomless pit and shut him up and set a seal upon him, that he should no more seduce the nations till the thousand years be finished. And after that, he must be loosed a little time.
3. and cast him into the abyss, and shut , and sealed over him, that he should deceive the nations no more, until the thousand years should be finished: after this he must be loosed for a little time.
And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season:

3: и низверг его в бездну, и заключил его, и положил над ним печать, дабы не прельщал уже народы, доколе не окончится тысяча лет; после же сего ему должно быть освобожденным на малое время.
20:3  καὶ ἔβαλεν αὐτὸν εἰς τὴν ἄβυσσον καὶ ἔκλεισεν καὶ ἐσφράγισεν ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ ἵνα μὴ πλανήσῃ ἔτι τὰ ἔθνη ἄχρι τελεσθῇ τὰ χίλια ἔτη· μετὰ ταῦτα δεῖ λυθῆναι αὐτὸν μικρὸν χρόνον.
20:3. et misit eum in abyssum et clusit et signavit super illum ut non seducat amplius gentes donec consummentur mille anni post haec oportet illum solvi modico tempore
And he cast him into the bottomless pit and shut him up and set a seal upon him, that he should no more seduce the nations till the thousand years be finished. And after that, he must be loosed a little time.
ru▾ el▾ el-en-gloss▾ vulgate▾ erva_1895▾
jfb▾ jw▾ jg▾ gnv▾ tr▾ ab▾ ac▾ tb▾ all ▾
А. П. Лопухин: Tолковая Библия или комментарий на все книги Св.Писания Ветхого и Нового Заветов - 1903-1914
3: Дракон - это тот самый древний змей, диавол и сатана, о котором была уже речь (в XII:3-4, 7-9, 13-17). Теперь побежденный диавол не только изгнан с неба на землю, но даже низвержен и заключен в бездну. Бездна (IX:1; ХI:7) это есть особенное, свойственное злым духам cостояние и положение связанности и стесненности, в котором они находятся в своей злой деятельности по отношению к людям [Августин 20: кн. гл. 8, "О граде Бож"]. Такая связанность и стесненность, начавшаяся для злых духов со времени связания их цепью, должна продолжиться в течение тысячи лет. Собственно, смерть Иисуса Христа и Его воскресение нужно считать тем моментом, когда диавол, лишенный своей прежней власти над уже искупленным человечеством, был, так сказать, связан Иисусом Христом и осужден на бесплодность (сравнительную) своей деятельности. К этому времени нужно относить символическое действие Ангела связания сатаны и заключения его в бездну, как бы в некоторую темницу. Он не только был связан, не только заключен в бездну, но еще и запечатан. Печать означает твердость охраны и указывает на то, что запечатанное его не может быть вскрыто без воли и желания того, кто положил ее. Но как долго продолжится эта связанность сатаны? По отношению к отдельным людям диавол связан лишь тогда, когда они пользуются именем Христовым, но он свободен по отношению к христианам, колеблющимся и слабым в вере. На точное и определенное время диавол связан лишь по отношению к "народам земли" как общий обольститель, как виновник общего идолопоклонства и богопротивления, как миродержатель тьмы века сего. Как таковой он связан Богом на тысячу лет. Только по прошествии этого Богом определенного и предназначенного времени диавол снова будет освобожден и снова явится не только как развратитель отдельных личностей, но и как общий обольститель мира. Он тогда явится как Ангел бездны (IX:11), как зверь из бездны (XI:7). Как понимать это тысячелетие? Одни [Lutardt, Ebrard, Kliefoth, Suller, Оберлен] толкователи годы этого тысячелетия считают за определённое Богом число лет, которое должно пройти от времени второго пришествия Господа до времени всеобщего воскресения и всеобщего суда. Но такое толкование противоречит учению Православной Церкви, основывающемуся на свящ. Писании, что второе пришествие Господа будет одновременно с общим воскресением и непосредственно будет предшествовать страшному суду, не оставляя никакого промежутка. Иначе решают этот вопрос другие толкователи [Андрей Кес., Августин, Яковлев, Виноградов], чуждые предвзятых мыслей. - Теперь, со времени смерти Христа Спасителя и с распространением христианства, диавол связан в своей деятельности общего развратителя народов и руководителя земными идолопоклонническими царствами, каковых было шесть до времени Иоанна. Седьмое царство хотя также не свободно от воздействия диавола, но сравнительно в очень слабой степени, на что намекает нарочитое замечание апокалиптического текста, что седьмому царю не долго быть (XVII:10). Но восьмое царство будет полным торжеством диавола. Тогда, освобождённый волею Божиею, он снова явится как мировой властитель и в лице антихриста проявит в высшей степени свою вредоносную деятельность. Но эта свобода ему будет дана только на малое время (XX:3), и царство его представителя антихриста в антихристианское время будет непродолжительно [См. объясн, XIII:5]. В тесной связи с описанным явлением связания сатаны стоит последующее видение тысячелетнего царствования со Христом Его святых и мучеников.
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
20:3: He should deceive the nations no more - Be unable to blind men with superstition and idolatry as he had formerly done.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
20:3: And cast him into the bottomless pit - See the notes on Rev 9:1. A state of peace and prosperity would exist as if Satan, the great disturber, were confined in the nether world as a prisoner.
And shut him up - Closed the massive doors of the dark prison-house upon him. Compare the notes on Job 10:21-22.
And set a seal upon him - Or, rather, "upon it" - ἐπάνω αὐτοῦ epanō autou. The seal was placed upon the "door" or "gate" of the prison, not because this would fasten the gate or door of itself, and make it secure, for this was secured by the key, but because it pRev_ented intrusion, or any secret opening of it without its being known. See the Dan 6:17 note, and Mat 27:66 note. The idea here is, that every precaution was taken for absolute security.
That he should deceive the nations no more - That is, during the thousand years. Compare the notes on Rev 12:9.
Till the thousand years should be fulfilled - That is, during that period there will be a state of things upon the earth as if Satan should be withdrawn from the world, and confined in the great prison where he is ultimately to dwell foRev_er.
And after that he must be loosed a little season - See Rev 20:7-8. That is, a state of things will then exist, for a brief period, as if he were again released from his prison-house, and suffered to go abroad upon the earth. The phrase "a little season" - μικρὸν χρόνον mikron chronon, "little time" - denotes properly that this would be brief as compared with the thousand years. No intimation is given as to the exact time, and it is impossible to conjecture how long it will be. All the circumstances stated, however, here and in Rev 20:7-10, would lead us to suppose that what is referred to will be like the sudden outbreak of a rebellion in a time of general peace, but which will soon be quelled.
Section a. - Condition of the world in the period referred to in Rev 20:1-3
It may be proper, in order to a correct understanding of this chapter, to present a brief summary under the different parts (see the Analysis of the chapter) of what, according to the interpretation proposed, may be expected to be the condition of things in the time referred to.
On the portion now before us Rev 20:1-3, according to the interpretation proposed, the following suggestions may be made:
(1) This will be subsequent to the downfall of the papacy and the termination of the Muhammedan power in the world. Of course, then, this lies in the future - how far in the future it is impossible to determine. The interpretation of the various portions of this book, and the book of Daniel, have, however, led to the conclusion that the termination of those powers cannot now be remote. If so, we are on the eve of important events in the world's history. The affairs of the world look as if things were tending to a fulfillment of the prophecies so understood.
(2) it will be a condition of the world "as if" Satan were bound; that is, where his influences will be suspended, and the principles of virtue and religion will pRev_ail. According to the interpretation of the pRev_ious chapters, it will be a state in which all that has existed, and that now exists, in the papacy to corrupt mankind, to maintain error, and to pRev_ent the pRev_alence of free and liberal principles, will cease; in which all that there now is in the Muhammedan system to fetter and enslave mankind - now controlling more than one hundred and twenty million of the race - shall have come to an end; and in which, in a great measure, all that occurs under the direct influence of Satan in causing or perpetuating slavery, war, intemperance, lust, avarice, disorder, scepticism, atheism, will be checked arid stayed. It is proper to say, however, that this passage does not require us to suppose that there will be a "total cessation" of Satanic influence in the earth during that period. Satan will, indeed, be bound and restrained as to his former influence and power. But there will be no change in the character of man as he comes into the world. There will still be corrupt passions in the human heart. Though greatly restrained, and though there will be a general pRev_alence of righteousness on the earth, yet we are to remember that the race is fallen, and that even then, if restraint should be taken away, man would act out his fallen nature. This fact, if remembered, will make it appear less strange that, after this period of pRev_alent righteousness, Satan should be represented as loosed again, and as able once more for a time to deceive the nations.
(3) it will be a period of long duration. On the supposition that it is to be literally a period of one thousand years, this is in itself long, and will give, especially under the circumstances, opportunity for a vast progress in human affairs. To form some idea of the length of the period, we need only place ourselves in imagination "back" for a thousand years - say in the middle of the ninth century - and look at the condition of the world then, and think of the vast changes in human affairs that have occurred during that period. It is to be remembered, also, that if the millennial period were soon to commence, it would find the world in a far different state in reference to future progress from what it was in the ninth century, and that it would "start off," so to speak, with all the advantages in the arts and sciences which have been accumulated in all the past periods of the world.
Even if there were no special divine interposition, it might be presumed that the race, in such circumstances, would make great and surprising advances in the long period of a thousand years. And here a very striking remark of Mr. Hugh Miller may be introduced as illustrating the subject. "It has been remarked by some student of the Apocalypse," says he, "that the course of predicted events at first moves slowly, as one after one, six of seven seals are opened; that, on the opening of the seventh seal, the progress is so considerably quickened that the seventh period proves as fertile in events - represented by the sounding of the seven trumpets - as the foregoing six taken together; and that on the seventh trumpet, so great is the further acceleration, that there is an amount of incident condensed in this seventh part of the seventh period equal, as in the former case, to that of all the pRev_ious six parts in one. There are three cycles, it has been said, in the scheme - cycle within cycle - the second comprised within a seventh portion of the first, and the third within a seventh portion of the second. Be this as it may, we may, at least, see something that exceedingly resembles it in that actual economy of change and Rev_olution manifested in English history for the last two centuries. "It would seem as if eyelets, in their downward course, had come under the influence of that law of gravitation through which falling bodies increase in speed, as they descend, according to the squares of the distance" (First Impressions of England and its People, pp. 7, 8.). If to this we add the supposition, which we have seen (see the notes on Rev 20:2) to be by no means improbable, that it is intended, in the description of the millennium in this chapter, that the world will continue under a reign of peace and righteousness for the long period of three hundred and sixty thousand years, it is impossible to anticipate what progress will be made during that period, or to enumerate the numbers that will be saved. On this subject, see some very interesting remarks in the "Old Red Sandstone," by Hugh Miller, pp. 248-250, 258, 259. Compare Prof. Hitchcock's "Religion and Geology," pp. 370-409.
(4) What, then, will be the state of things during that long period of a thousand years?
(a) There will be a great increase in the population of the globe. Let wars cease, and intemperance cease, and slavery cease, and the numberless passions that now shorten life be stayed, and it is easy to see that there must be a vast augmentation in the number of the human species.
(b) There will be a general diffusion of intelligence upon the earth. Every circumstance would be favorable to it, and the world would be in a condition to make rapid advances in knowledge, Dan 12:4.
(c) That period will be characterized by the universal diffusion of Rev_ealed truth, Isa 11:9; Isa 25:7.
(d) It will be marked by unlimited subjection to the scepter of Christ, Psa 2:7; Psa 22:27-29; Isa 2:2-3; Isa 66:23; Zac 9:10; Zac 14:9; Mat 13:31-32; Rev 11:15.
(e) There will be great progress in all that tends to promote the welfare of man. We are not to suppose that the resources of nature are exhausted. Nature gives no signs of exhaustion or decay. In the future there is no reason to doubt that there will yet be discoveries and inventions mere surprising and wonderful than the art of printing, or the use of steam, or the magnetic telegraph. There are profounder secrets of nature that may be delivered up than any of these, and the world is tending to their development.
(f) It will be a period of the universal reign of peace. The attention of mankind will be turned to the things which tend to promote the welfare of the race, and advance the best interests of society. The single fact that wars will cease will make an inconceivable difference in the aspect of the world; for if universal peace shall pRev_ail through the long period of the millennium, and the wealth, the talent, and the science now employed in human butchery shall be devoted to the interests of agriculture, the mechanical arts, learning, and religion, it is impossible now to estimate the progress which the race will make, and the changes which will be produced on the earth. For Scripture "proofs" that it will be a time of universal peace, see Isa 2:4; Isa 11:6-9; Mic 4:3.
(g) There will be a "general" pRev_alence of evangelical religion. This is apparent in the entire description in this passage, for the two most formidable opposing powers that religion has ever known - the beast and the false prophet - will be destroyed, and Satan will be bound. In this long period, therefore, we are to suppose that the gospel will exert its fair influence on governments, on families, on individuals; in the contact of neighbors, and in the contact of nations. God will be worshipped in spirit and in truth, and not in the mere "forms" of devotion; and temperance, truth, liberty, social order, honesty, and love, will pRev_ail over the world.
(h) It will be a time when the Hebrew people - the Jews - will be brought to the knowledge of the truth, and will embrace the Messiah whom their fathers crucified, Zac 12:10; Zac 13:1; Rom 11:26-29.
(i) Yet we are not necessarily to suppose that "all" the world will be absolutely and entirely brought under the power of the gospel. There will be still on the earth the remains of wickedness in the corrupted human heart, and there will be so much "tendency" to sin in the human soul, that Satan, when released for a time Rev 20:7-8, will be able once more to deceive mankind, and to array a formidable force, represented by Gog and Magog, against the cause of truth and righteousness. We are not to suppose that the nature of mankind, as fallen, will be essentially changed, or that there may not be sin enough in the human heart to make it capable of the same opposition to the gospel of God which has thus far been evinced in all ages. From causes which are not fully stated Rev 20:8-9, Satan will be enabled once more to rouse up their enmity, and to make one more desperate effort to destroy the kingdom of the Redeemer by rallying his forces for a conflict. See these views illustrated in the work entitled "Christ's Second Coming," by Rev_. David Brown, of James' Free Church, Glasgow, pp. 398-442; New York, 1851.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
20:3: cast: Rev 20:1, Rev 17:8
and set: Dan 6:17; Mat 27:66
should deceive: Rev 20:8, Rev 12:9, Rev 13:14, Rev 16:14-16, Rev 17:2; Mat 24:24; Co2 11:3, Co2 11:13-15; Th2 2:9-11
the thousand: Psa 90:4; Pe2 3:8
and after: Rev 20:7-10
Geneva 1599
20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations (4) no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed (5) a little season.
(4) Namely, with that public and violent deceit which he attempted before in chapter 12 and which after a thousand years (alas for woe!) he most mightily achieved in the Christian world. (5) Which being once expired, the second battle and victory shall be; (Rev_ 20:7-8).
John Gill
20:3 And cast him into the bottomless pit,.... Or deep, into which the devils desired they might not be sent, and which they dreaded as a torment, it may be, because a place of confinement, Lk 8:31 for this is called a prison, Rev_ 20:7 and is distinguished from the lake of fire, into which the devil is afterwards cast, Rev_ 20:10.
And shut him up; that so he might not rove about in the air, nor go to and fro in the earth, nor walk about like a roaring lion, seeking to affright, disturb, or devour:
and set a seal upon him; or upon the door of the pit, for further security, as was upon the stone at the mouth of the lion's den, Dan 6:17 and of Christ's sepulchre, Mt 27:66. The Jews (u) make mention of a stone they call "Shetijah", with which the Lord of the world "sealed the mouth of the great deep", or bottomless pit, at the beginning; but here not that, but Satan in it, is sealed. The Alexandrian copy reads, "and sealed him firmly", so that it was impossible for him to break out: the end of this apprehension, binding, imprisonment, and security of Satan is,
that he should deceive the nations no more; that is, by drawing them into idolatry, false worship, and false doctrine; and by exciting them to make war against the saints, or to persecute them, as appears from Rev_ 20:8 as he had done before; and it is notorious enough that he has deceived them both these ways; he deceived the Pagan nations not only before, but since the coming of Christ, to worship the Heathen deities; and the Papists, who are called Gentiles, or nations, Rev_ 11:2 to fall down to idols of gold, silver, stone, and wood; and the nation of the Jews to entertain a false and deluded notion of the Messiah; and all of them, in their turns, to persecute the people of God, as the Jews at the death of Stephen, and afterwards; the Pagan emperors for the first three hundred years after Christ; the Papists from the rise of the beast, who had power given him to make war with the saints, and overcome them; but now he will be under such restraint, and in such close confinement, that he will not be able to move the wicked nations to anything of this kind, as he will when he is loosed at the end of the thousand years; nor will he be able so much as to tempt any of the saints, during this term of time, nor give them the least molestation or uneasiness.
Till the thousand years shall be fulfilled; or ended, the whole space of them run out:
and after that he must be loosed a little season; a small space of time, in comparison of the thousand years; how long it will be exactly, cannot be said; and this "must" be, not because he cannot be held any longer, or through any weakness in Christ; but because of the decree of God, who has so appointed it, for the glorifying of himself, in the salvation of his people, and in the final destruction of the devil, and the Gog and Magog army.
(u) Targum Jon. in Exod. xxviii. 30.
John Wesley
20:3 And set a seal upon him - How far these expressions are to be taken literally, how far figuratively only, who can tell? That he might deceive the nations no more - One benefit only is here expressed, as resulting from the confinement of Satan. But how many and great blessings are implied! For the grand enemy being removed, the kingdom of God holds on its uninterrupted course among the nations; and the great mystery of God, so long foretold, is at length fulfilled; namely, when the beast is destroyed and Satan bound. This fulfilment approaches nearer and nearer; and contains things of the utmost importance, the knowledge of which becomes every day more distinct and easy. In the mean time it is highly necessary to guard against the present rage and subtilty of the devil. Quickly he will be bound: when he is loosed again, the martyrs will live and reign with Christ. Then follow his coming in glory, the new heaven, new earth, and new Jerusalem. The bottomless pit is properly the devil's prison; afterwards he is cast into the lake of fire. He can deceive the nations no more till the "thousand years," mentioned before, Rev_ 20:2, are fulfilled. Then he must be loosed - So does the mysterious wisdom of God permit. For a small time - Small comparatively: though upon the whole it cannot be very short, because the things to be transacted therein, Rev_ 20:8-9, must take up a considerable space. We are very shortly to expect, one after another, the calamities occasioned by the second beast, the harvest and the vintage, the pouring out of the phials, the judgment of Babylon, the last raging of the beast and his destruction, the imprisonment of Satan. How great things these! and how short the time! What is needful for us? Wisdom, patience, faithfulness, watchfulness. It is no time to settle upon our lees. This is not, if it be rightly understood, an acceptable message to the wise, the mighty, the honourable, of this world. Yet that which is to be done, shall be done: there is no counsel against the Lord.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
20:3 shut him--A, B, Vulgate, Syriac, and ANDREAS omit "him."
set a seal upon him--Greek, "over him," that is, sealed up the door of the abyss over his head. A surer seal to keep him from getting out than his seal over Jesus in the tomb of Joseph, which was burst on the resurrection morn. Satan's binding at' this juncture is not arbitrary, but is the necessary consequence of the events (Rev_ 19:20); just as Satan's being cast out of heaven, where he had previously been the accuser of the brethren, was the legitimate judgment which passed on him through the death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ (Rev_ 12:7-10). Satan imagined that he had overcome Christ on Golgotha, and that his power was secure for ever, but the Lord in death overcame him, and by His ascension as our righteous Advocate cast out Satan, the accuser from heaven. Time was given on earth to make the beast and harlot powerful, and then to concentrate all his power in Antichrist. The Antichristian kingdom, his last effort, being utterly destroyed by Christ's mere appearing, his power on earth is at an end. He had thought to destroy God's people on earth by Antichristian persecutions (just as he had thought previously to destroy Christ); but the Church is not destroyed from the earth but is raised to rule over it, and Satan himself is shut up for a thousand years in the "abyss" (Greek for "bottomless pit"), the preparatory prison to the "lake of fire," his final doom. As before he ceased by Christ's ascension to be an accuser in heaven, so during the millennium he ceases to be the seducer and the persecutor on earth. As long as the devil rules in the darkness of the world, we live in an atmosphere impregnated with deadly elements. A mighty purification of the air will be effected by Christ's coming. Though sin will not be absolutely abolished--for men will still be in the flesh (Is 65:20) --sin will no longer be a universal power, for the flesh is not any longer seduced by Satan. He will not be, as now, "the god and prince of the world"--nor will the world "lie in the wicked one"--the flesh will become ever more isolated and be overcome. Christ will reign with His transfigured saints over men in the flesh [AUBERLEN]. This will be the manifestation of "the world to come," which has been already set up invisibly in the saints, amidst "this world" (2Cor 4:4; Heb 2:5; Heb 5:5). The Jewish Rabbis thought, as the world was created in six days and on the seventh God rested, so there would be six millenary periods, followed by a sabbatical millennium. Out of seven years every seventh is the year of remission, so out of the seven thousand years of the world the seventh millenary shall be the millenary of remission. A tradition in the house of Elias, A.D. 200, states that the world is to endure six thousand years; two thousand before the law, two thousand under the law, and two thousand under Messiah. Compare Note, see on Heb 4:9 and Heb 4:9, Margin; see on Rev_ 14:13. PAPIAS, JUSTIN MARTYR, IRENÆUS, and CYPRIAN, among the earliest Fathers, all held the doctrine of a millennial kingdom on earth; not till millennial views degenerated into gross carnalism was this doctrine abandoned.
that he should deceive--so A. But B reads, "that he deceive" (Greek, "plana," for "planeesee").
and--so Coptic and ANDREAS. But A, B, and Vulgate omit "and."
20:420:4: Եւ տեսի աթո՛ռս, եւ նստա՛ն ՚ի վերայ նոցա. եւ դատաւորութիւն տուաւ նոցա՝ ընտրել զհոգիս չարչարելոցն վասն վկայութեանն Յիսուսի՝ եւ վասն բանին Աստուծոյ. եւ զորս ո՛չն երկիր պագին գազանին, եւ ո՛չ առին զդրոշմ նորա ՚ի ճակատս իւրեանց՝ եւ ո՛չ ՚ի վերայ աջու ձեռին իւրեանց. եւ կացին՝ եւ թագաւորեցին ընդ Քրիստոսի հազա՛ր ամ[5329]:[5329] Ոմանք. Զդրոշմն նորա... ընդ Քրիստոսի մինչեւ ՚ի հազար ամ։
4 Տեսայ նաեւ գահեր. նստեցին դրանց վրայ. եւ նրանց իշխանութիւն տրուեց դատելու եւ ընտրելու այն հոգիներին, որոնք Յիսուսին եւ Աստծու խօսքին իրենց տուած վկայութեան համար չարչարուել էին. նաեւ նրանց հոգիներին, որոնք չերկրպագեցին գազանին եւ չստացան նրա դրոշմը իրենց ճակատների, ոչ էլ իրենց աջ ձեռքի վրայ. եւ նրանք նորից կեանք ստացան ու թագաւորեցին Քրիստոսի հետ հազար տարի:
4 Աթոռներ տեսայ, որոնց վրայ նստան եւ անոնց դատաւորութիւն տրուեցաւ։ Նաեւ Յիսուսին վկայութեանը համար ու Աստուծոյ խօսքին համար գլխատուածներուն հոգիները տեսայ։ Անոնք, որ երկրպագութիւն չըրին գազանին, ո՛չ ալ անոր պատկերին ու անոր դրոշմը իրենց ճակատներուն վրայ ու իրենց ձեռքին վրայ չընդունեցին եւ ապրեցան ու Քրիստոսին հետ հազար տարի թագաւորեցին։
Եւ տեսի աթոռս, եւ նստան ի վերայ նոցա. եւ դատաւորութիւն տուաւ նոցա` [305]ընտրել զհոգիս [306]չարչարելոցն վասն վկայութեանն Յիսուսի եւ վասն բանին Աստուծոյ, եւ զորս ոչն երկիր պագին [307]գազանին, եւ ոչ առին զդրոշմ նորա ի ճակատս իւրեանց եւ ոչ ի վերայ [308]աջոյ ձեռին իւրեանց. եւ կացին եւ թագաւորեցին ընդ Քրիստոսի հազար ամ:

20:4: Եւ տեսի աթո՛ռս, եւ նստա՛ն ՚ի վերայ նոցա. եւ դատաւորութիւն տուաւ նոցա՝ ընտրել զհոգիս չարչարելոցն վասն վկայութեանն Յիսուսի՝ եւ վասն բանին Աստուծոյ. եւ զորս ո՛չն երկիր պագին գազանին, եւ ո՛չ առին զդրոշմ նորա ՚ի ճակատս իւրեանց՝ եւ ո՛չ ՚ի վերայ աջու ձեռին իւրեանց. եւ կացին՝ եւ թագաւորեցին ընդ Քրիստոսի հազա՛ր ամ[5329]:
[5329] Ոմանք. Զդրոշմն նորա... ընդ Քրիստոսի մինչեւ ՚ի հազար ամ։
4 Տեսայ նաեւ գահեր. նստեցին դրանց վրայ. եւ նրանց իշխանութիւն տրուեց դատելու եւ ընտրելու այն հոգիներին, որոնք Յիսուսին եւ Աստծու խօսքին իրենց տուած վկայութեան համար չարչարուել էին. նաեւ նրանց հոգիներին, որոնք չերկրպագեցին գազանին եւ չստացան նրա դրոշմը իրենց ճակատների, ոչ էլ իրենց աջ ձեռքի վրայ. եւ նրանք նորից կեանք ստացան ու թագաւորեցին Քրիստոսի հետ հազար տարի:
4 Աթոռներ տեսայ, որոնց վրայ նստան եւ անոնց դատաւորութիւն տրուեցաւ։ Նաեւ Յիսուսին վկայութեանը համար ու Աստուծոյ խօսքին համար գլխատուածներուն հոգիները տեսայ։ Անոնք, որ երկրպագութիւն չըրին գազանին, ո՛չ ալ անոր պատկերին ու անոր դրոշմը իրենց ճակատներուն վրայ ու իրենց ձեռքին վրայ չընդունեցին եւ ապրեցան ու Քրիստոսին հետ հազար տարի թագաւորեցին։
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
20:44: И увидел я престолы и сидящих на них, которым дано было судить, и души обезглавленных за свидетельство Иисуса и за слово Божие, которые не поклонились зверю, ни образу его, и не приняли начертания на чело свое и на руку свою. Они ожили и царствовали со Христом тысячу лет.
20:4  καὶ εἶδον θρόνους, καὶ ἐκάθισαν ἐπ᾽ αὐτούς, καὶ κρίμα ἐδόθη αὐτοῖς, καὶ τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν πεπελεκισμένων διὰ τὴν μαρτυρίαν ἰησοῦ καὶ διὰ τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ οἵτινες οὐ προσεκύνησαν τὸ θηρίον οὐδὲ τὴν εἰκόνα αὐτοῦ καὶ οὐκ ἔλαβον τὸ χάραγμα ἐπὶ τὸ μέτωπον καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν χεῖρα αὐτῶν· καὶ ἔζησαν καὶ ἐβασίλευσαν μετὰ τοῦ χριστοῦ χίλια ἔτη.
20:4. Καὶ (And) εἶδον ( I-had-seen ) θρόνους , ( to-thrones ,"καὶ (and) ἐκάθισαν ( they-sat-down-to ) ἐπ' (upon) αὐτούς, (to-them," καὶ ( and ) κρίμα ( a-separating-to ) ἐδόθη ( it-was-given ) αὐτοῖς, (unto-them) καὶ (and) τὰς (to-the-ones) ψυχὰς (to-breathings) τῶν (of-the-ones) πεπελεκισμένων ( of-having-had-come-to-be-axed-to ) διὰ (through) τὴν (to-the-one) μαρτυρίαν (to-a-witnessing-unto) Ἰησοῦ (of-an-Iesous) καὶ (and) διὰ (through) τὸν (to-the-one) λόγον (to-a-forthee) τοῦ (of-the-one) θεοῦ, (of-a-Deity) καὶ (and) οἵτινες (which-ones) οὐ (not) προσεκύνησαν (they-kissed-toward-unto) τὸ (to-the-one) θηρίον (to-a-beastlet) οὐδὲ (not-moreover) τὴν (to-the-one) εἰκόνα (to-a-resemblance) αὐτοῦ (of-it) καὶ (and) οὐκ (not) ἔλαβον (they-had-taken) τὸ (to-the-one) χάραγμα (to-a-graving-to) ἐπὶ (upon) τὸ (to-the-one) μέτωπον (to-looked-with) καὶ (and) ἐπὶ (upon) τὴν (to-the-one) χεῖρα (to-a-hand) αὐτῶν: (of-them,"καὶ (and) ἔζησαν (they-lifed-unto) καὶ (and) ἐβασίλευσαν (they-ruled-of) μετὰ (with) τοῦ (of-the-one) χριστοῦ (of-Anointed) χίλια ( to-thousand ) ἔτη. (to-years)
20:4. et vidi sedes et sederunt super eas et iudicium datum est illis et animas decollatorum propter testimonium Iesu et propter verbum Dei et qui non adoraverunt bestiam neque imaginem eius nec acceperunt caracterem in frontibus aut in manibus suis et vixerunt et regnaverunt cum Christo mille annisAnd I saw seats. And they sat upon them: and judgment was given unto them. And the souls of them that were beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God and who had not adored the beast nor his image nor received his character on their foreheads or in their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
4. And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and the souls of them that had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God, and such as worshipped not the beast, neither his image, and received not the mark upon their forehead and upon their hand; and they lived, and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and [I saw] the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received [his] mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years:

4: И увидел я престолы и сидящих на них, которым дано было судить, и души обезглавленных за свидетельство Иисуса и за слово Божие, которые не поклонились зверю, ни образу его, и не приняли начертания на чело свое и на руку свою. Они ожили и царствовали со Христом тысячу лет.
20:4  καὶ εἶδον θρόνους, καὶ ἐκάθισαν ἐπ᾽ αὐτούς, καὶ κρίμα ἐδόθη αὐτοῖς, καὶ τὰς ψυχὰς τῶν πεπελεκισμένων διὰ τὴν μαρτυρίαν ἰησοῦ καὶ διὰ τὸν λόγον τοῦ θεοῦ, καὶ οἵτινες οὐ προσεκύνησαν τὸ θηρίον οὐδὲ τὴν εἰκόνα αὐτοῦ καὶ οὐκ ἔλαβον τὸ χάραγμα ἐπὶ τὸ μέτωπον καὶ ἐπὶ τὴν χεῖρα αὐτῶν· καὶ ἔζησαν καὶ ἐβασίλευσαν μετὰ τοῦ χριστοῦ χίλια ἔτη.
20:4. et vidi sedes et sederunt super eas et iudicium datum est illis et animas decollatorum propter testimonium Iesu et propter verbum Dei et qui non adoraverunt bestiam neque imaginem eius nec acceperunt caracterem in frontibus aut in manibus suis et vixerunt et regnaverunt cum Christo mille annis
And I saw seats. And they sat upon them: and judgment was given unto them. And the souls of them that were beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God and who had not adored the beast nor his image nor received his character on their foreheads or in their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
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А. П. Лопухин: Tолковая Библия или комментарий на все книги Св.Писания Ветхого и Нового Заветов - 1903-1914
4: Иоанн видит престолы и сидящих на них. Сидящие на престолах суда суть первее всего апостолы, как первые проповедники христианской истины, Бож. слова. После апостолов в числе сидящих на престолах нужно видеть их ближайших сотрудников и других христиан, прославившихся на ниве христианской проповеди. Впрочем, ни личности сидящих, ни их числа точно определить нельзя. Апостолы первее всего и по преимуществу своею проповедью способствовали связанию сатаны в его безбожной деятельности. Суду (суждению, рассуждению) сидящих на престолах подлежит самое дело распространения христианской проповеди: они созерцают ее успехи; и, видя, принимают участие в подавлении зла и в торжестве христианства и добродетели. Пользуются прославлением, далее, и души обезглавленных. Это означает то, что победа Иисуса Христа должна служить утешением и для обезглавленных, которые в нем нуждаются по преимуществу. Души всех обезглавленных, а равно и всех тех, которым пришлось и придется в будущем потерпеть от диавола, от его слуг и, особенно, от зверя-антихриста и его лжепророка (не поклонившиеся зверю), - все они не потеряют своей награды: они будут живы и будут царствовать со Христом тысячу лет. Последнее выражение иногда принимается толкователями за основание учения хилиастов о тысячелетнем царстве Иисуса Христа с праведными людьми; но совершенно неправильно. Если хилиастическое учение и было основано на Свящ. Писании, то не на новозаветном, а на ветхозаветном. Возникновение этого учения относится к первому времени христианства. Еще еретик Керинф ожидал, что Христос, когда устроит Свое тысячелетнее Царство, восстановит во всей красе Иерусалим, и счастье участников в этом царстве будет состоять во всевозможных удовольствиях. Но хилиастических воззрений как частного мнения придерживались и некоторые христианские отцы и учители. Так, Палий, по словам Евсевия Кесар., говорил о том, что по воскресении мертвых наступит Царство Христово на этой самой земле телесно и будет продолжаться тысячу лет. Об этом же учил и св. Иустин-филосов. Более подробно о вопросе тысячелетнего царства рассуждает св. Ириней. Но и он, и другие не ищут доказательства своего мнения в Апокалипсисе и не ссылаются на наше место (ст. 4-5), а ищут их в пророчествах Ветхого Завета и ссылаются на Ис ХХVI:19; Иер 23:7-8; Иез 37:12-14: и др. По мнению некоторых новейших толкователей тысячелетнее царство также будет состоять главным образом в предварительном прославлении святых христиан, которое будет предшествовать общему воскресению [Kliefoth, Ebrard, Lutardt, Suller]. Учение о тысячелетнем царстве и как учение еретиков, и как мнение отцов находится в противоречии с другими местами Свящ. Писания. Так мы находим ясные указания на то, что, во 1) будет только одно общее воскресение мертвых в последний день (Мф. 13:37; Ин 5:28), во 2) будет только ещё одно пришествие Господа и притом с прямою целью непосредственного суда над всеми людьми без исключения (Мф. 25:31-38; Ин 13:17) и в 3) что есть только два царства, настоящее царство благодати (1Кор.15:23-26) и будущее вечное царство славы (Лк. 1:33); среднего между этими царствами ни по времени, ни по содержанию не существует. Поэтому хилиазм, учение о тысячелетнем царстве, осудил и второй вселенский собор. Кроме этого, и самый текст 4: ст., взятый сам по себе, не говорит ничего о земном тысячелетнем царстве. Мы читаем здесь: обезглавленные жили - собственно были живыми на глазах тайнозрителя. На земле они умерли, здесь же, на небе, в видении Иоанн видит их живыми. Именно, в утешение всем гонимым за веру Христову говорится, что их смерть ограничивается только землею и телом, души же их живут, и притом живут на небе пред престолом Божьим. Они вместе с Иисусом Христом будут царствовать, т.е. могут являться руководителями и помощниками подвизающихся на земле христиан и в этом находить для себя новый источник радости и блаженства. Это их блаженное царствование будет продолжаться тысячу лет. Тысяча лет - это та тысяча, на время которой был связан сатана в своей деятельности (ст. 3). Поэтому блаженное царствование кончится тогда, когда после кратковременного господства на земле антихриста наступит день второго пришествия Господа, день общего воскресения. После этого настанет новое вечное царство, когда блаженство праведников усугубится тем, что в нем примут участие и их прославленные тела. Что же касается того, почему употреблено число тысяча, то в ответ на это нужно указать на другие места Свящ. Писания, где это же число употреблено для обозначения многочисленности и полноты (Втор 5:10; Иер 32:18; Пс 89:5; 2Пет. 3:8).
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
20:4: I saw thrones - Christianity established in the earth, the kings and governors being all Christians.
Reigned with Christ a thousand years - I am satisfied that this period should not be taken literally. It may signify that there shall be a long and undisturbed state of Christianity; and so universally shall the Gospel spirit prevail, that it will appear as if Christ reigned upon earth; which will in effect be the case, because his Spirit shall rule in the hearts of men; and in this time the martyrs are represented as living again; their testimony being revived, and the truth for which they died, and which was confirmed by their blood, being now everywhere prevalent. As to the term thousand years, it is a mystic number among the Jews. Midrash Tillin, in Psa 90:15, Make us glad according to the days wherein thou hast afflicted us, adds, "by Babylon, Greece, and the Romans; and in the days of the Messiah. How many are the days of the Messiah? Rab. Elieser, the son of R. Jose, of Galilee, said, The days of the Messiah are a thousand years."
Sanhedrin, fol. 92, 1, cited by the Aruch, under the word אירק says: "There is a tradition in the house of Elias, that the righteous, whom the holy blessed God shall raise from the dead, shall not return again to the dust; but for the space of a thousand years, in which the holy blessed God shall renew the world, they shall have wings like the wings of eagles, and shall fly above the waters." It appears therefore that this phraseology is purely rabbinical. Both the Greeks and Latins have the same form of speech in speaking on the state of the righteous and wicked after death. There is something like this in the Republic of Plato, book x., p. 322, edit. Bip., where, speaking of Erus, the son of Armenius, who came to life after having been dead twelve days, and who described the states of departed souls, asserting "that some were obliged to make a long peregrination under the earth before they arose to a state of happiness, ειναι δε την πορειαν χιλιετη, for it was a journey of a thousand years," he adds, "that, as the life of man is rated at a hundred years, those who have been wicked suffer in the other world a ten-fold punishment, and therefore their punishment lasts a thousand years."
A similar doctrine prevailed among the Romans; whether they borrowed it from the Greeks, or from the rabbinical Jews, we cannot tell.
Thus Virgil, speaking of the punishment of the wicked in the infernal regions, says: -
Has omnes, ubi Mille rotam volvere per annos,
Lethaeum ad fluvium Deus evocat agmine magno:
Scilicet immemores supera ut convexa revisant,
Rursus et incipiant in corpora velle reverti.
Aen., lib. vi., 748.
"But when a thousand rolling years are past,
So long their dreary punishment shall last,
Whole droves of spirits, by the driving god,
Are led to drink the deep Lethean flood
In large, forgetful draughts, to sleep the cares
Of their past labors and their irksome years;
That, unremembering of its former pain,
The soul may clothe itself with flesh again."
How the apostle applies this general tradition, or in what sense he may use it, who can tell?
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
20:4: And I saw thrones - θρόνους thronous See Rev 1:4; Rev 3:21; Rev 4:3-4. John here simply says, that he saw in vision thrones, with persons sitting on them, but without intreating who they were that sat on them. It is not the throne of God that is now Rev_ealed, for the word is in the plural number, though the writer does not hint how "many" thrones there were. It is intimated, however, that these thrones were placed with some reference to pronouncing a judgment, or determining the destiny of some portion of mankind, for it is immediately added, "and judgment was given unto them." There is considerable resemblance, in many respects, between this and the statement in Dan 7:9; "I beheld until the thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit"; or, as it should be rendered, "I beheld" - that is, I continued to look - "until the thrones were placed or set," to wit, for the purposes of judgment. See the notes on that passage. So John here sees, as the termination of human affairs approaches, thrones placed with reference to a determination of the destiny of some portion of the race, "as if" they were now to have a trial, and to receive a sentence of acquittal or condemnation. The "persons" on whom this judgment is to pass are specified, in the course of the verse, as those who were "beheaded for the witness of Jesus, who had the Word of God, who had not worshipped the beast," etc. The "time" when this was to occur manifestly was at the Beginning of the thousand years.
And they sat upon them - Who sat on them is not mentioned. The natural construction is, that "judges" sat on them, or that persons sat on them to whom judgment was entrusted. The language is such as would be used on the supposition either that he had mentioned the subject before, so that he would be readily understood, or that, from some other cause, it was so well understood that there was no necessity for mentioning who they were. John seems to have assumed that it would be understood who were meant. And yet to us it is not entirely clear; for John has not before this given us any such intimation that we can determine with certainty what is intended. The probable construction is, that those are referred to to whom it appropriately belonged to occupy such seats of judgment, and who they are is to be determined from other parts of the Scriptures. In Mat 19:28, the Saviour says to his apostles, "When the Son of man shall sit on the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." In Co1 6:2, Paul asks the question, "Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world?" The meaning as thus explained is, that Christians will, in some way, be employed in judging the world; that is, that they will be exalted to the right hand of the Judge, and be elevated to a station of honor, as if they were associated with the Son of God in the judgment. Something of that kind is, doubtless, referred to here; and John probably means to say that he saw the thrones placed on which those will sit who will be employed in judging the world. If the apostles are specially referred to, it was natural that John, eminent for modesty, should not particularly mention them, as he was one of them, and as the true allusion would be readily understood.
And judgment was given unto them - The power of pronouncing sentence in the case referred to was conferred on them, and they proceeded to exercise that power. This was not in relation to the whole race of mankind, but to the martyrs, and to those who, amidst many temptations and trials, had kept themselves pure. The sentence which is to be passed would seem to be that in consequence of which they are to be permitted to "live and reign with Christ a thousand years." The "form" of this expressed approval is that of a resurrection and judgment; whether this be the "literal" mode is another inquiry, and will properly be considered when the exposition of the passage shall have been given.
And I saw the souls of them - This is a very important expression in regard to the meaning of the whole passage. John says he saw "the souls" - not "the bodies." If the obvious meaning of this be the correct meaning; if he saw the "souls" of the martyrs, not the "bodies," this would seem to exclude the notion of a "literal" resurrection, and consequently overturn many of the theories of a literal resurrection, and of a literal reign of the saints with Christ during the thousand years of the millennium. The doctrine of the last resurrection, as everywhere stated in the Scripture, is, that the "body" will be raised up, and not merely that the "soul will live" (see 1 Cor. 15, and the notes on that chapter); and consequently John must mean to refer in this place to something different from that resurrection, or to "any" proper resurrection of the dead as the expression is commonly understood.
The doctrine which has been held, and is held, by those who maintain that there will be a "literal resurrection" of the saints to reign with Christ during a thousand years, can receive no support from this passage, for there is no ambiguity respecting the word "souls" - ψυχὰς psuchas - as used here. By no possible construction can it mean the "bodies" of the saints. If John had intended to state that the saints, as such, would be raised as they will be at the last day, it is clear that he would not have used this language, but would have employed the common language of the New Testament to denote it. The language here does not express the doctrine of the resurrection of the body; and if no other language but this had been used in the New Testament, the doctrine of the resurrection, as now taught and received, could not be established. These considerations make it clear to my mind that John did not mean to teach that there would be a literal resurrection of the saints, that they might live and reign with Christ personally during the period of a thousand years.
There was undoubtedly something that might be "compared" with the resurrection, and that might, in some proper sense, be "called" a resurrection Rev 20:5-6, but there is not the slightest intheation that it would be a resurrection of the "body," or that it would be identical with the "final" resurrection. John undoubtedly intends to describe some honor conferred on the "spirits or souls" of the saints and martyrs during this long period, as if they were raised from the dead, or which might be represented by a resurrection from the dead. What that honor is to be, is expressed by their "living and reigning with Christ." The meaning of this will be explained in the exposition of these words; but the word used here is fatal to the notion of a literal resurrection and a personal reign with Christ on the earth.
That were beheaded - The word used here - πελεκίζω pelekizō - occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. It properly means, "to axe," that is, to hew or cut with an axe - from πέλεκυς pelekus, "axe." Hence it means to behead with an axe. This was a common mode of execution among the Romans, and doubtless many of the Christian martyrs suffered in this manner; but "it cannot be supposed to have been the intention of the writer to confine the rewards of martyrs to those who suffered in this particular way; for this specific and ignominious method of punishment is designated merely as the symbol of any and every kind of martyrdom" (Prof. Stuart).
For the witness of Jesus - As witnesses of Jesus; or bearing in this way their testimony to the truth of his religion. See the notes on Rev 1:9; compare Rev 6:9.
And for the Word of God - See the notes on Rev 1:9. "Which had not worshipped the beast." Who had remained faithful to the principles of the true religion, and had resisted all the attempts made to seduce them from the faith, even the temptations and allurements in the times of the papacy. See this language explained in the notes on Rev 13:4.
Neither his image - notes on Rev 13:14-15.
Neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands - See the notes on Rev 13:16.
And they lived - εN#787;́ζησαν ezē san, from ζάω zaō, "to live." Very much, in the whole passage, depends on this word. The meanings given to the word by Prof. Robinson (Lexicon) are the following:
(a) to live, to have life, spoken of physical life and existence;
(b) to live, that is, to sustain life, to live on or by anything;
(c) to live in any way, to pass one's life in any manner;
(d) to live and prosper; to be blessed.
It may be applied to those who were before dead Mat 9:18; Mar 16:11; Luk 24:23; Joh 5:25; Act 1:3; Act 9:41, but it does not necessarily imply this, nor does the mere use of the word "suggest" it. It is the proper notion of living, or having life "now," whatever was the former state - whether nonexistence, death, sickness, or health. The mind, in the use of this word, is fixed on the "present as a state of living." It is not necessarily in contrast with a former state "as dead," but it is on the fact that they are now alive. As, however, there is reference, in the passage before us, to the fact that a portion of those mentioned had been "beheaded for the witness of Jesus," it is to be admitted that the word here refers, in some sense, to that fact. They were put to death in the body, but their "souls" were now seen to be alive. They had not ceased to be, but they lived and reigned with Christ as if they had been raised up from the dead. And when this is said of the "souls" of those who were beheaded, and who were seen to reign with Christ, it cannot mean:
(a) that their "souls" came to life again, for there is no intimation that they had for a moment ceased to exist; nor,
(b) that they then became "immortal," for that was always true of them; nor,
(c) that there was any literal "resurrection of the body," as Prof. Stuart (2:360, 475, 476) supposes, and as is supposed by those who hold to a literal reign of Christ on the earth, for there is no intimation of the resurrection of the "body."
The meaning, then, so far as the language is concerned, must be, that there would exist, at the time of the thousand years, a state of things as if the martyrs were raised up from the dead - an honoring of the martyrs as if they should live and reign with Christ. Their names would be vindicated; their principles would be Rev_ived; they would be exalted in public estimation above other men; they would be raised from the low rank in which they were held by the world in times of persecution to a state which might well be represented by their sitting with Christ on the throne of government, and by their being made visible attendants on his glorious kingdom.
This would not occur in respect to the rest of the dead - even the pious dead Rev 20:5 - for "their" honors and rewards would be reserved for the great day when all the dead should be judged according to their deeds. In this view of the meaning of this passage there is nothing that forbids us to suppose that the martyrs will be "conscious" of the honor thus done to their names, their memory, and their principles on earth, or that this consciousness will increase their joy even in heaven. This sense of the passage is thus expressed, substantially, by Dr. Whately (Essays on the Future State): "It may signify not the literal raising of dead men, but the raising up of an increased Christian zeal and holiness; the Rev_ival in the Christian church, or in some considerable portion of it, of the "spirit and energy" of the noble martyrs of old (even as John the Baptist came in the spirit and power of Elias), so that Christian principles shall be displayed in action throughout the world in an infinitely greater degree than ever before."
This view of the signification of the word "lived" is sustained by its use elsewhere in the Scriptures and by its common use among people. Thus in this very book, Rev 11:11; "And after three days and a half, the Spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet." So in Ezekiel, in speaking of the restoration of the Jews: "Thus saith the Lord God, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves," and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have opened your graves, and brought you up out of your graves, and shall put my Spirit in you, and ye shall live," Eze 37:12-14. So in Hos 6:2; "After two days he will "Rev_ive" us (cause us to live again); in the third day he will raise us up, and we shall "live" in his sight." So in the parable of the prodigal son: "This thy brother was dead, and is alive again," Luk 15:32.
So in Isa 26:19; "Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body shall they arise." The following extract, from D'Aubigne's "History of the Reformation," will show how natural it is to use the very language employed here when the idea is intended to be conveyed of Rev_iving former principles as if the people who held them should be raised to life again. It is the language of the martyr John Huss, who, in speaking of himself in view of a remarkable dream that he had, said, "I am no dreamer, but I maintain this for certain, that the image of Christ will never be effaced. They (his enemies) have wished to destroy it, but it shall be painted afresh in all hearts by much better preachers than myself. The nation that loves Christ will rejoice at this. And I, awaking from among the dead, and rising, so to speak, from my grave, shall leap with great joy." So a Brief addressed by Pope Adrian to the Diet at Nuremberg contains these words: "The heretics Huss and Jerome are now alive again in the person of Martin Luther." For a further illustration of the passage see the remarks which follow (section b) on the state of things which may be expected to exist in the time referred to in Rev 20:4-6.
And reigned with Christ - Were exalted in their principles, and in their personal happiness in heaven, as if they occupied the throne with him, and personally shared his honors and his triumphs. Who can tell, also, whether they may not be employed in special services of mercy, in administering the affairs of his government during that bright and happy period?
A thousand years - During the period when Satan will be bound, and when the true religion will have the ascendency in the earth. See the notes on Rev 20:2.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
20:4: thrones: Dan 7:9, Dan 7:18, Dan 7:22, Dan 7:27; Mat 19:28; Luk 22:30; Co1 6:2, Co1 6:3
the souls: Rev 6:9; Mal 4:5; Mat 17:10-13; Mar 9:11; Luk 1:17, Luk 9:7-9
beheaded: Mat 24:10; Mar 6:16, Mar 6:27; Luk 9:9
the witness: Rev 1:9, Rev 11:3, Rev 11:7, Rev 12:11
and which: Rev 13:12-17, Rev 14:11, Rev 15:2, Rev 17:8
and they: Rev 5:9, Rev 11:11, Rev 11:15; Dan 2:44, Dan 7:18, Dan 7:27; Rom 8:17, Rom 11:15; Ti2 2:12
Geneva 1599
20:4 (6) And I saw (a) thrones, and they sat upon them, and (7) judgment was given unto them: and [I saw] the souls of them that were (8) beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which (9) had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received [his] mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
(6) A description of the common state of the Church of Christ in earth in that space of a thousand years, during which the devil was in bonds; in which first the authority, life, and common honour of the godly, is declared, (Rev_ 20:4). Secondly, newness of life is preached to others by the gospel after that time; (Rev_ 20:5). Finally, he concludes with promises, (Rev_ 20:6).
(a) For judgment was committed to them, as to members joined to the head: not that Christ's office was given over to them. (7) This was a type of the authority of the good and faithful servants of God in the Church, taken from the manner of men. (8) Of the martyrs, who suffered in those first times. (9) Of the martyrs who suffered after both the beasts were now risen up, chapter 15. For there, these things are expounded.
John Gill
20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them,.... Besides the throne of God the Father, and the throne of glory, on which the Son of God sits, and the twelve thrones for the twelve apostles of the Lamb; there will be thrones set, or pitched, for all the saints, Dan 7:9 who will sit on them, in the character of kings, and as conquerors, and shall sit quiet, and undisturbed, and be in perfect ease, and peace, for they that sit on them are the same persons hereafter described in this verse; for after the binding of Satan, an account is given of the happiness and glory of the saints during that time:
and judgment was given unto them; that is, power, dominion, regal authority, possession of a kingdom, answerable to their character as kings, and to their position, sitting on thrones, Dan 7:22 unless it should be rather understood of justice being done them, which does not so manifestly take place in the present state of things, and of which they sometimes complain; but now righteous judgment will be given for them, and against their enemies; their persons will be openly declared righteous; their characters will be cleared of all false imputations fastened on them; and their works and sufferings for Christ will be taken notice of in a way of grace, and rewarded in a very glorious manner. And so it may respect their being judged themselves, but not their judging of others, the wicked, which is the sole work of Christ; nor will the wicked now be upon the spot to be judged; nor is that notion to be supported by See Gill on Mt 19:28, See Gill on 1Cor 6:2, See Gill on 1Cor 6:3. The Jews fancy that their chief men shall judge the world in the time to come; for so they say (w),
"in future time, (or in the world to come,) the holy blessed God will sit, and kings will place thrones for the great men of Israel, and they shall sit and judge the nations of the world with the holy blessed God:''
but the persons here meant are not Jews, but sufferers for the sake of Jesus, as follows:
and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God: these, with the persons described in the next clause, are they who will sit on thrones, during the thousand years of Satan's being bound, and will have judgment given them; even such who have bore witness to the truth of Jesus being the Son of God, the true Messiah, and the only Saviour of sinners, and to him as the essential Word of God, or to the written word of God, the whole Gospel, all the truths and doctrines of it; and who have been beheaded for bearing such a testimony, as John the Baptist was, the first of the witnesses of Jesus: and since this kind of punishment was a Roman one, it seems particularly to point at such persons who suffered under the Roman Pagan emperors, and to design the same souls said to be under the altar, and to cry for vengeance, Rev_ 6:9. This clause, in connection with the former, is differently rendered; the Syriac version renders it thus, "and judgment was given to them, and to the souls that were beheaded", &c. the Arabic version, "and to them was given the judgment the souls killed", &c. the Ethiopic version, "and then I saw a seat, and the son of man sat upon it, and he rendered to them judgment for the souls of them that were slain for the law of the Lord Jesus".
And which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands, see Rev_ 13:1. This describes such who shall have made no profession of the Popish religion, nor have supported it in any way; who shall not have joined in the idolatry of the Romish antichrist, but shall have protested against it, and departed from it, and shall have adhered to Christ, and to the true worship of God; see Rev_ 14:1. And so this, with the preceding character, includes all the saints that lived under Rome Pagan, and Rome Papal, to the destruction of antichrist, and the setting up of Christ's kingdom; not that these martyrs and confessors, or even all the saints of their times, are the only persons that shall share in the glory and happiness of the thousand years' reign of Christ, and binding of Satan; for all the saints will come with Christ, and all the dead in Christ will rise first, or be partakers of the first resurrection; and all that are redeemed by his blood, of whatsoever nation, or in whatsoever age of the world they have lived, even from the beginning of it, shall be kings and priests, and reign with him on earth, Zech 14:5 though John only takes notice of these, because the design of this book, and of the visions shown to him, was only to give a prophetic history of the church, from his time, to the end of the world; and these particularly are observed to encourage the saints under sufferings for Christ:
and they lived; meaning not spiritually, for so they did before, and while they bore their testimony to Christ, and against antichrist, and previous to their death; nor in their successors, for it would not be just and reasonable that they should be beheaded for their witness of Christ and his word, and others should live and reign with Christ in their room and stead; nor is this to be understood of their living in their souls, for so they live in their separate state; the soul never dies; God is not the God of the dead, but of the living: but the sense is, that they lived again, as in Rev_ 20:5 they lived corporeally; their souls lived in their bodies, their bodies being raised again, and reunited to their souls, their whole persons lived; or the souls of them that were beheaded lived; that is, their bodies lived again, the soul being sometimes put for the body, Ps 16:10 and this is called the first resurrection in the next verse:
and reigned with Christ a thousand years; as all that suffer with him will, and as all that will live godly must, and do, Ti2 2:12 Ti2 3:12. Christ being descended from heaven, and having bound Satan, and the dead saints being raised, and the living ones changed, he will reign among them personally, visibly, and gloriously, and in the fullest manner; all the antichristian powers will be destroyed; Satan will be in close confinement; death, with respect to Christ and his people, will be no more; the heavens and the earth will be made new, and all things will be subject to him; and all his saints will be with him, and they shall reign with him; they shall be glorified together; they shall sit on the throne with him, have a crown of righteousness given them, and possess the kingdom appointed for them; they will reign over all their enemies; Satan will be bruised under their feet, being bound; the wicked will be shut up in hell, and neither will be able to give them any disturbance; and sin and death will be no more: this reign will not be in a sensual and carnal way, or lie in possessing worldly riches and honours, in eating and drinking, marrying, and giving in marriage; the saints will not be in a mortal, but in an immortal state; the children of this resurrection will be like the angels; and this reign will be on earth, Rev_ 5:10 the present earth will be burnt up, and a new one formed, in which these righteous persons will dwell, 2Pet 3:13 of which See Gill on Rev_ 21:1 and it will last a thousand years; not distinct from, but the same with the thousand years in which Satan will be bound; for if they were distinct from them, and should commence when they are ended, the reign of Christ with his saints would be when Satan is loosed, which is utterly inconsistent with it. The Syriac version very rightly renders it, these thousand years, referring to those of Satan's binding. Nor are these thousand years to be understood prophetically, for as many years as there are days in a thousand years; for as this would defer the judgment of the wicked, and the ultimate glory of the saints, to a prodigious length of time, so it should be observed, that prophetic time will now be no longer, according to the angel's oath in Rev_ 10:6 but these are to be understood literally and definitely, as before, of just such an exact number and term of years; see 2Pet 3:8 this is a perfect number, and is expressive of the perfection of this state, and is a term of years that neither Adam, nor any of his sons, arrived unto; but Christ the second Adam shall see his seed, and shall prolong his days longer than any of them, Is 53:10. It is an observation of the Jewish Rabbins (x), that the day in Gen 2:17 is the day of the holy blessed God (i.e. a thousand years), and therefore the first Adam did not perfect, or fill up his day, for there wanted seventy years of it: and it is a notion that prevails with them, that the days of the Messiah will be a thousand years (y); and so they will be at his second coming, but not at his first, which they vainly expect, it being past: and also they say (z), that in these thousand years God will renew his world, and that then the righteous will be raised, and no more return to dust; which agrees with John's new heaven and new earth during this state, and with the first resurrection: and so Jerom, who was conversant with the Rabbins, says (a) that the Jews expect a thousand years' reign.
(w) Yalkut Simconi, par. 2. fol. 41. 4. (x) Bemidbar Rabba, sect. 5. fol. 185. 4. vid. Jacchiad. in Dan. vii. 25. (y) Midrash Tillim, fol. 4. 2. (z) T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 93. 1, 2. & Gloss. in ib. Yalkut Simeoni, par. 2. fol. 42. 1. & 49. 3. Tzeror Hammor, fol. 150. 2. (a) Comment. in Zach. xiv. 16, 18.
John Wesley
20:4 And I saw thrones - Such as are promised the apostles, Mt 19:28; Lk 22:30. And they - Namely, the saints, whom St. John saw at the same time, Dan 7:22, sat upon them; and Judgment was given to them. 1Cor 6:2. Who, and how many, these are, is not said. But they are distinguished from the souls, or persons, mentioned immediately after; and from the saints already raised. And I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded - With the axe: so the original word signifies. One kind of death, which was particularly inflicted at Rome, is mentioned for all. For the testimony of Jesus, and for the word of God - The martyrs were sometimes killed for the word of God in general; sometimes particularly for the testimony of Jesus: the one, while they refused to worship idols; the other, while they confessed the name of Christ. And those who had not worshipped the wild beast, nor his image - These seem to be a company distinct from those who appeared, Rev_ 15:2. Those overcame, probably, in such contests as these had not. Before the number of the beast was expired, the people were compelled to worship him, by the most dreadful violence. But when the beast "was not," they were only seduced into it by the craft of the false prophet. And they lived - Their souls and bodies being re - united. And reigned with Christ - Not on earth, but in heaven. The "reigning on earth" mentioned, Rev_ 11:15, is quite different from this. A thousand years - It must be observed, that two distinct thousand years are mentioned throughout this whole passage. Each is mentioned thrice; the thousand wherein Satan is bound, Rev_ 20:2-3, Rev_ 20:7; the thousand wherein the saints shall reign, Rev_ 20:4-6. The former end before the end of the world; the latter reach to the general resurrection. So that the beginning and end of the former thousand is before the beginning and end of the latter. Therefore as in Rev_ 20:2, at the first mention of the former; so in Rev_ 20:4, at the first mention of the latter, it is only said, a thousand years; in the other places, "the thousand," Rev_ 20:3, Rev_ 20:5, Rev_ 20:7, that is, the thousand mentioned before. During the former, the promises concerning the flourishing state of the church, Rev_ 10:7, shall be fulfilled; during the latter, while the saints reign with Christ in heaven, men on earth will be careless and secure.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
20:4 they sat--the twelve apostles, and the saints in general.
judgment was given unto there--(See on Dan 7:22). The office of judging was given to them. Though in one sense having to stand before the judgment-seat of Christ, yet in another sense they "do not come into judgment (Greek), but have already passed from death unto life."
souls--This term is made a plea for denying the literality of the first resurrection, as if the resurrection were the spiritual one of the souls of believers in this life; the life and reign being that of the soul raised in this life from the death of sin by vivifying faith. But "souls" expresses their disembodied state (compare Rev_ 6:9) as John saw them at first; "and they lived" implies their coming to life in the body again, so as to be visible, as the phrase, Rev_ 20:5, "this is the first resurrection," proves; for as surely as "the rest of the dead lived not (again) until," &c., refers to the bodily general resurrection, so must the first resurrection refer to the body. This also accords with 1Cor 15:23, "They that are Christ's at His coming." Compare Ps 49:11-15. From Rev_ 6:9, I infer that "souls" is here used in the strict sense of spirits disembodied when first seen by John; though doubtless "souls" is often used in general for persons, and even for dead bodies.
beheaded--literally, "smitten with an axe"; a Roman punishment, though crucifixion, casting to beasts, and burning, were the more common modes of execution. The guillotine in revolutionary France was a revival of the mode of capital punishment of pagan imperial Rome. Paul was beheaded, and no doubt shall share the first resurrection, in accordance with his prayer that he "might attain unto the resurrection from out of the rest of the dead" (Greek, "exanastasis"). The above facts may account for the specification of this particular kind of punishment.
for . . . for--Greek, "for the sake of"; on account of"; "because of."
and which--Greek, "and the which." And prominent among this class (the beheaded), such as did not worship the beast. So Rev_ 1:7, Greek, "and the which," or "and such as," particularizes prominently among the general class those that follow in the description [TREGELLES]. The extent of the first resurrection is not spoken of here. In 1Cor 15:23, 1Cor 15:51; Th1 4:14 we find that all "in Christ" shall share in it. John himself was not "beheaded," yet who doubts but that he shall share in the first resurrection? The martyrs are put first, because most like Jesus in their sufferings and death, therefore nearest Him in their life and reign; for Christ indirectly affirms there are relative degrees and places of honor in His kingdom, the highest being for those who drink his cup of suffering. Next shall be those who have not bowed to the world power, but have looked to the things unseen and eternal.
neither--"not yet."
foreheads . . . hands--Greek, "forehead . . . hand."
reigned with Christ--over the earth.
20:520:5: Եւ յետ ասորիկ ՚ի մեռելոց ո՛չ ոք եկեաց, մինչեւ ՚ի կատարել հազա՛ր ամին. ա՛յս է յարութիւն առաջին:
5 Եւ սրանից յետոյ մեռելներից ոչ ոք չկենդանացաւ, մինչեւ կը լրանար հազար տարին: Ա՛յս է մեռելների առաջին յարութիւնը:
5 Միւս մեռելները չապրեցան մինչեւ հազար տարին լրացաւ։ Ասիկա է առաջին յարութիւնը։
Եւ [309]յետ այսորիկ ի մեռելոց ոչ ոք եկեաց``, մինչեւ ի կատարել հազար ամին. այս է յարութիւն առաջին:

20:5: Եւ յետ ասորիկ ՚ի մեռելոց ո՛չ ոք եկեաց, մինչեւ ՚ի կատարել հազա՛ր ամին. ա՛յս է յարութիւն առաջին:
5 Եւ սրանից յետոյ մեռելներից ոչ ոք չկենդանացաւ, մինչեւ կը լրանար հազար տարին: Ա՛յս է մեռելների առաջին յարութիւնը:
5 Միւս մեռելները չապրեցան մինչեւ հազար տարին լրացաւ։ Ասիկա է առաջին յարութիւնը։
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
20:55: Прочие же из умерших не ожили, доколе не окончится тысяча лет. Это--первое воскресение.
20:5  οἱ λοιποὶ τῶν νεκρῶν οὐκ ἔζησαν ἄχρι τελεσθῇ τὰ χίλια ἔτη. αὕτη ἡ ἀνάστασις ἡ πρώτη.
20:5. οἱ (The-ones) λοιποὶ ( remaindered ) τῶν (of-the-ones) νεκρῶν ( of-en-deaded ) οὐκ (not) ἔζησαν (they-lifed-unto) ἄχρι (unto-whilst) τελεσθῇ (it-might-have-been-finished-unto) τὰ (the-ones) χίλια ( thousand ) ἔτη. (years) αὕτη (The-one-this) ἡ (the-one) ἀνάστασις (a-standing-up) ἡ (the-one) πρώτη. (most-before)
20:5. ceteri mortuorum non vixerunt donec consummentur mille anni haec est resurrectio primaThe rest of the dead lived not, till the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
5. The rest of the dead lived not until the thousand years should be finished. This is the first resurrection.
But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This [is] the first resurrection:

5: Прочие же из умерших не ожили, доколе не окончится тысяча лет. Это--первое воскресение.
20:5  οἱ λοιποὶ τῶν νεκρῶν οὐκ ἔζησαν ἄχρι τελεσθῇ τὰ χίλια ἔτη. αὕτη ἡ ἀνάστασις ἡ πρώτη.
20:5. ceteri mortuorum non vixerunt donec consummentur mille anni haec est resurrectio prima
The rest of the dead lived not, till the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
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jfb▾ jw▾ jg▾ gnv▾ tr▾ ab▾ ac▾ tb▾ all ▾
А. П. Лопухин: Tолковая Библия или комментарий на все книги Св.Писания Ветхого и Нового Заветов - 1903-1914
5: Прочие из умерших - это, очевидно, те, которые не входят в состав поименованных в 4: ст. ; их не коснется первое воскресение, которым Иоанн называет свое видение живых душ. Причем это воскресение - не воссоединение умерших людей с их телами, но воскресение как бы первое, ocобенное. Под первым воскресением нужно разуметь то состояние душ умерших, которое созерцал тайнозритель. Оно может быть рассматриваемо как переход (восстание) благочестивых от земной жизни к жизни на небе, от унижения и страданий к славе пред престолом Божиим. Это воскресение называется первым, ибо оно предваряет и предуказывает на воскресение общее, за которым последует блаженная жизнь праведников и в телах. Такая участь принадлежит не всем; многие (прочие из умерших) христиане и нехристиане не удостоятся прославления после своей земной жизни и, разлучившись с телом, будут пребывать вдали от Бож. престола своею душею. Поэтому-то Иоанн и не видит их живыми (ожившими) пред Бож. престолом и вблизи сидящих на престолах. Иоанн участников первого воскресения называет не только блаженными, но и святыми, т.е. совершенными. Совершенство, будучи условием блаженства христиан после их земной смерти, после разлучения души и тела, послужит для них вместе с тем и основанием освобождения от второй смерти. Вторая смерть, как это видно из II:11; XX:14, есть вечные мучения, которые наступают для каждого человека после его осуждения на страшном суде. Телесная смерть есть отделение души от тела, и ее не избегает ни один человек. Но есть еще смерть духовная, она состоит в лишении человека Бож. благодати, оживляющей его душу. Праведники же, благодаря своей святости и чистоте, находятся и после своей телесной смерти в самом тесном общении с Богом. Они становятся священниками Бога и Христа (ср. I:6), т.е. лицами весьма близкими к Богу, делаются некоторыми посредниками между Ним и земными людьми. И как теперь они царствуют со Христом тысячу лет, т.е. до всеобщего воскресения, так будут царствовать и после этого воскресения, вечно, так как ничто не может лишить их благодати и чрез это подвергнуть второй вечной смерти, вечным мучениям.
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
20:5: The rest of the dead lived not again - It is generally supposed from these passages that all who have been martyred for the truth of God shall be raised a thousand years before the other dead, and reign on earth with Christ during that time, after which the dead in general shall be raised; but this also is very doubtful.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
20:5: But the rest of the dead - In contradistinction from the beheaded martyrs, and from those who had kept themselves pure in the times of great temptation. The phrase "rest of the dead" here would most naturally refer to the "same general class" which was before mentioned - the pious dead. The meaning is, that the martyrs would be honored as if they were raised up and the others not - that is, that special respect would be shown to their principles, their memory, and their character. In other words, "special" honor would be shown "to a spirit of eminent piety" during that period above the "common and ordinary" piety which has been manifested in the church. The "rest of the dead" - the pious dead - would indeed be raised up and rewarded, but they would occupy comparatively humble places, as if they did not partake in the exalted triumphs when the world should be subdued to the Saviour. Their places in honor, in rank, and in reward would be "beneath" that of those who in fiery times had maintained unshaken fidelity to the cause of truth.
Lived not - On the word "lived," see the notes on Rev 20:4. That is, they "lived" not during that period in the special sense in which it is said Rev 20:4 that the eminent saints and martyrs lived. They did not come into remembrance; their principles were not what then characterized the church; they did not see, as the martyrs did, their principles and mode of life in the ascendency, and consequently they had not the augmented happiness and honor which the more eminent saints and martyrs had.
Until the thousand years were finished - Then all who were truly the children of God, though some might be less eminent than others had been, would come into remembrance, and would have their proper place in the rewards of heaven. The "language" here is not necessarily to be interpreted as meaning that they would be raised up then, or would live then, whatever may be true on that point. It is merely an emphatic mode of affirming that "up to float period they would not live" in the sense in which it is affirmed that the others would. But it is not affirmed that they would even then "live" immediately. A "long" interval might elapse before that would occur in the general resurrection of the dead. See the Analysis of the chapter.
This is the first resurrection - The resurrection of the saints and martyrs, as specified in Rev 20:4. It is called the "first" resurrection in contradistinction from the second and last - the general resurrection - when all the dead will be "literally" raised up from their graves and assembled for the judgment, Rev 20:12. It is not necessary to suppose that what is called here the "first resurrection" will resemble the real and literal resurrection in every respect. All that is meant is, that there will be such a resemblance as to make it proper to call it a resurrection - a coming to life again. This will be, as explained in the notes on Rev 20:4, in the honor done to the martyrs, in the restoration of their principles as the great actuating principles of the church, and perhaps in the increased happiness conferred on them in heaven, and in their being employed in promoting the cause of truth in the world.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
20:5: the rest: Rev 20:8, Rev 20:9, Rev 19:20, Rev 19:21
This: Rev 11:11, Rev 11:15; Eze 37:2-14; Rom 11:15
Geneva 1599
20:5 (10) But the rest of the dead (11) lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This [is] the first resurrection.
(10) Whoever shall lie dead in sin, and not know the truth of God.
(11) They shall not be renewed with newness of the life by the enlightening of the gospel of the glory of Christ. For this is the first resurrection, by which souls of the dead do rise from their death. In the second resurrection their bodies shall rise again.
John Gill
20:5 But the rest of the dead,.... Meaning not the dead saints, for they will be all raised together, but the wicked dead; and not them as morally or spiritually, but as corporeally dead: these
lived not again until the thousand years were finished; so that there will be such an exact term of years between the resurrection of the saints and the resurrection of the wicked; nor will there be any wicked living upon earth, or in bodies, during that time; for the wicked dead will not be raised with the saints at Christ's coming, and the wicked living will be destroyed in the conflagration of the world, and neither of them shall live again until the end of these years. This clause is left out in the Syriac version.
This is the first resurrection; which is not to be connected with the living again of the rest of the dead at the end of the thousand years, for that will be the second and last resurrection; but with the witnesses of Jesus, and the true worshippers of God living again, in order to reign with Christ a thousand years; for this resurrection is not meant of a resurrection from the death of sin to a life of grace; though the work of grace and conversion is sometimes so represented, it cannot be designed here; for such a resurrection the above witnesses and worshippers were partakers of before their sufferings, and which was antecedently necessary to their witness and worship; besides, this resurrection was future in John's time, and was what was to be done at once, and was peculiar to the commencement of the thousand years; whereas the spiritual resurrection was before his time, and has been ever since the beginning, and is successive in all ages, and not affixed to anyone period of time, though there may be more instances of it in one age than in another; nor is this ever called the first resurrection, nor can any reason be given why it should; for though one man may be converted before another, his conversion cannot be called the first resurrection, since there are many instances of this nature before, and many more after; besides, at this time, there will be none of God's people to be raised in this sense; they will be all quickened and converted before; the nation of the Jews will be born again, and the fulness of the Gentiles brought in; to which may be added, that if the first resurrection is to be understood in a spiritual sense, then the second resurrection of the wicked dead, at the end of the thousand years, must be understood in like manner: nor is a reviving of the cause of Christ and his interest here intended, particularly through the calling of the Jews, and the numerous conversion of the Gentiles; for though the former of these especially is signified by the quickening of the dry bones in Ezekiel's vision, and is expressed by bringing the Jews out of their graves, and is called life from the dead, Rom 11:15 yet that cannot with any propriety be called the first resurrection; for there was a great reviving of true religion in the time of John the Baptist, Christ and his apostles, especially after the effusion of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost, both among Jews and Gentiles; and there was a revival of the Christian religion in the times of Constantine, and again at the reformation from Popery; and as for the conversion of the Jews and the Gentiles in the latter day, that will be the last reviving of the cause and interest of Christ, which will usher in his spiritual reign, and therefore should rather be called the last, than the first resurrection; besides, this affair will be over before this time; this is signified by the marriage of the Lamb in the preceding chapter; and the kingdoms of the world will become Christ's under the seventh trumpet, and both will be in the spiritual reign: moreover, this does by no means agree with the character of the persons who shall share in this resurrection, they are such who shall have lived and suffered, at least many of them, under Rome Pagan and Papal, Rev_ 20:4 and therefore can never be understood of Jews and Gentiles in the latter day, when neither one nor other shall be any more. To which may be subjoined, that if this was the sense, then this cause must revive also among the wicked at the end of the thousand years, whereas when they are raised, they will attempt the very reverse. It remains then, that by this first resurrection must be meant a corporeal one; for as some of those that will live again were corporeally beheaded, and all of them corporeally died, they will be corporeally raised again; and in such sense will the rest of the dead be raised at the end of these years; with respect to which this is properly called the first resurrection; it is the first in time, it will be at the beginning of the thousand years, and the second will be at the close; the dead in Christ will rise first in order of time; see Gill on Th1 4:16; they will have the dominion in this sense over the wicked in the morning of the resurrection: Christ's resurrection is indeed first, but that is the cause and pledge of this; and there were particular resurrections both before and after his, but they were to a mortal state; and there were some saints that rose from the dead immediately after his resurrection; but these were but few, and were designed as an earnest of this; besides, though it was a resurrection, it was not the resurrection; and it may be further observed, that the resurrection of the righteous will be the first at the coming of Christ, 1Cor 15:22 there will be none then before theirs; theirs will be the first; the resurrection of the wicked, to which this is opposed as the first, will not be till a thousand years after: add to all which, that this resurrection will be, , "the first", that is, the best, as the word is used in Lk 15:22 the chief, the principal; the resurrection of the wicked can hardly be called a resurrection in comparison of it, and in many places theirs is not taken notice of where this is, as in 1Cor 15:12 the righteous will be raised by virtue of union to Christ, in consequence of his having the charge both of their souls and bodies, and in conformity to his glorious body, and to eternal life, which will not be the case of the wicked,
John Wesley
20:5 The rest of the dead lived not till the thousand years - Mentioned, Rev_ 20:4. Were ended - The thousand years during which Satan is bound both begin and end much sooner.
The small time, and the second thousand years, begin at the same point, immediately after the first thousand. But neither the beginning of the first nor of the second thousand will be known to the men upon earth, as both the imprisonment of Satan and his loosing are transacted in the invisible world.
By observing these two distinct thousand years, many difficulties are avoided. There is room enough for the fulfilling of all the prophecies, and those which before seemed to clash are reconciled; particularly those which speak, on the one hand, of a most flourishing state of the church as yet to come; and, on the other, of the fatal security of men in the last days of the world.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
20:5 But--B, Coptic, and ANDREAS read, "and." A and Vulgate omit it.
again--A, B, Vulgate, Coptic, and ANDREAS omit it. "Lived" is used for lived again, as in Rev_ 2:8. John saw them not only when restored to life, but when in the act of reviving [BENGEL].
first resurrection--"the resurrection of the just." Earth is not yet transfigured, and cannot therefore be the meet locality for the transfigured Church; but from heaven the transfigured saints with Christ rule the earth, there being a much freer communion of the heavenly and earthly churches (a type of which state may be seen in the forty days of the risen Saviour during which He appeared to His disciples), and they know no higher joy than to lead their brethren on earth to the same salvation and glory as they share themselves. The millennial reign on earth does not rest on an isolated passage of the Apocalypse, but all Old Testament prophecy goes on the same view (compare Is 4:3; Is 11:9; Is 35:8). Jesus, while opposing the carnal views of the kingdom of God prevalent among the Jews in His day, does not contradict, but confirms, the Old Testament view of a coming, earthly, Jewish kingdom of glory: beginning from within, and spreading itself now spiritually, the kingdom of God shall manifest itself outwardly at Christ's coming again. The papacy is a false anticipation of the kingdom during the Church-historical period. "When Christianity became a worldly power under Constantine, the hope of the future was weakened by the joy over present success" [BENGEL]. Becoming a harlot, the Church ceased to be a bride going to meet her Bridegroom; thus millennial hopes disappeared. The rights which Rome as a harlot usurped, shall be exercised in holiness by the Bride. They are "kings" because they are "priests" (Rev_ 20:6; Rev_ 1:6; Rev_ 5:10); their priesthood unto God and Christ (Rev_ 7:15) is the ground of their kingship in relation to man. Men will be willing subjects of the transfigured priest-kings, in the day of the Lord's power. Their power is that of attraction, winning the heart, and not counteracted by devil or beast. Church and State shall then be co-extensive. Man created "to have dominion over earth" is to rejoice over his world with unmixed, holy joy. John tells us that, instead of the devil, the transfigured Church of Christ; Daniel, that instead of the heathen beast, the holy Israel, shall rule the world [AUBERLEN].
20:620:6: Երանի սրբոցն, որք ունին բաժին ՚ի յարութեանն առաջնում. ՚ի վերայ սոցա երկրորդ մահն ո՛չ ունի իշխանութիւն. այլ եղիցին քահանայք Աստուծոյ՝ եւ Տեառն Յիսուսի Քրիստոսի. եւ թագաւորեսցեն ընդ նմա հազա՛ր ամ[5330]:[5330] Ոմանք. Երկրորդ մահ ոչ։ Յօրինակին. Ընդ նա հազար ամ։
6 Երանի՜ այն սրբերին, որոնք բաժին ունեն առաջին յարութեան մէջ: Սրանց վրայ երկրորդ մահը իշխանութիւն չունի. նրանք պիտի լինեն քահանաներ Աստծու եւ Տէր Յիսուս Քրիստոսի ու նրա հետ պիտի թագաւորեն հազար տարի:
6 Երանելի եւ սուրբ է ա՛ն, որ առաջին յարութեանը մէջ բաժին ունի։ Ասոնց վրայ երկրորդ մահը իշխանութիւն չունի, հապա անոնք Աստուծոյ եւ Քրիստոսին քահանաները պիտի ըլլան ու անոր հետ հազար տարի պիտի թագաւորեն։
[310]Երանի սրբոցն, որք ունին`` բաժին ի յարութեանն առաջնում. ի վերայ սոցա երկրորդ մահն ոչ ունի իշխանութիւն, այլ եղիցին քահանայք Աստուծոյ եւ [311]Տեառն Յիսուսի`` Քրիստոսի. եւ թագաւորեսցեն ընդ նմա հազար ամ:

20:6: Երանի սրբոցն, որք ունին բաժին ՚ի յարութեանն առաջնում. ՚ի վերայ սոցա երկրորդ մահն ո՛չ ունի իշխանութիւն. այլ եղիցին քահանայք Աստուծոյ՝ եւ Տեառն Յիսուսի Քրիստոսի. եւ թագաւորեսցեն ընդ նմա հազա՛ր ամ[5330]:
[5330] Ոմանք. Երկրորդ մահ ոչ։ Յօրինակին. Ընդ նա հազար ամ։
6 Երանի՜ այն սրբերին, որոնք բաժին ունեն առաջին յարութեան մէջ: Սրանց վրայ երկրորդ մահը իշխանութիւն չունի. նրանք պիտի լինեն քահանաներ Աստծու եւ Տէր Յիսուս Քրիստոսի ու նրա հետ պիտի թագաւորեն հազար տարի:
6 Երանելի եւ սուրբ է ա՛ն, որ առաջին յարութեանը մէջ բաժին ունի։ Ասոնց վրայ երկրորդ մահը իշխանութիւն չունի, հապա անոնք Աստուծոյ եւ Քրիստոսին քահանաները պիտի ըլլան ու անոր հետ հազար տարի պիտի թագաւորեն։
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
20:66: Блажен и свят имеющий участие в воскресении первом: над ними смерть вторая не имеет власти, но они будут священниками Бога и Христа и будут царствовать с Ним тысячу лет.
20:6  μακάριος καὶ ἅγιος ὁ ἔχων μέρος ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει τῇ πρώτῃ· ἐπὶ τούτων ὁ δεύτερος θάνατος οὐκ ἔχει ἐξουσίαν, ἀλλ᾽ ἔσονται ἱερεῖς τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τοῦ χριστοῦ, καὶ βασιλεύσουσιν μετ᾽ αὐτοῦ [τὰ] χίλια ἔτη.
20:6. μακάριος (Bless-belonged) καὶ (and) ἅγιος (hallow-belonged) ὁ (the-one) ἔχων (holding) μέρος (to-a-portion) ἐν (in) τῇ (unto-the-one) ἀναστάσει (unto-a-standing-up) τῇ (unto-the-one) πρώτῃ: (unto-most-before) ἐπὶ (upon) τούτων (of-the-ones-these) ὁ (the-one) δεύτερος (second) θάνατος (a-death) οὐκ (not) ἔχει (it-holdeth) ἐξουσίαν, (to-a-being-out-unto,"ἀλλ' (other) ἔσονται ( they-shall-be ) ἱερεῖς ( sacreders-of ) τοῦ ( of-the-one ) θεοῦ ( of-a-Deity ) καὶ (and) τοῦ (of-the-one) χριστοῦ, (of-Anointed,"καὶ (and) βασιλεύσουσιν (they-shall-rule-of) μετ' (with) αὐτοῦ (of-it) [τὰ] "[to-the-ones]" χίλια ( to-thousand ) ἔτη. (to-years)
20:6. beatus et sanctus qui habet partem in resurrectione prima in his secunda mors non habet potestatem sed erunt sacerdotes Dei et Christi et regnabunt cum illo mille annisBlessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection. In these the second death hath no power. But they shall be priests of God and of Christ: and shall reign with him a thousand years.
6. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: over these the second death hath no power; but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
Blessed and holy [is] he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years:

6: Блажен и свят имеющий участие в воскресении первом: над ними смерть вторая не имеет власти, но они будут священниками Бога и Христа и будут царствовать с Ним тысячу лет.
20:6  μακάριος καὶ ἅγιος ὁ ἔχων μέρος ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει τῇ πρώτῃ· ἐπὶ τούτων ὁ δεύτερος θάνατος οὐκ ἔχει ἐξουσίαν, ἀλλ᾽ ἔσονται ἱερεῖς τοῦ θεοῦ καὶ τοῦ χριστοῦ, καὶ βασιλεύσουσιν μετ᾽ αὐτοῦ [τὰ] χίλια ἔτη.
20:6. beatus et sanctus qui habet partem in resurrectione prima in his secunda mors non habet potestatem sed erunt sacerdotes Dei et Christi et regnabunt cum illo mille annis
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection. In these the second death hath no power. But they shall be priests of God and of Christ: and shall reign with him a thousand years.
ru▾ el▾ el-en-gloss▾ vulgate▾ erva_1895▾
jfb▾ jw▾ jg▾ gnv▾ tr▾ ab▾ ac▾ all ▾
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
20:6: Blessed - Μακαριος· Happy. And holy; he was holy, and therefore he suffered for the testimony of Jesus in the time when nothing but holiness was called to such a trial.
The first resurrection - Supposed to be that of the martyrs, mentioned above.
The second death - Punishment in the eternal world; such is the acceptation of the phrase among the ancient Jews.
Hath no power - Ουκ εχει εξουσιαν· Hath no authority - no dominion over him. This is also a rabbinical mode of speech. In Erubin, fol. 19, 1; Chagiga, fol. 27, 1: "Res Lakish said, The fire of hell hath no power over an Israelite who sins. Rab. Elieser says; The fire of hell hath no power over the disciples of the wise men."
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
20:6: Blessed - That is, his condition is to be regarded as a happy or a favored one. This is designed apparently to support and encourage those who, in the time of John, suffered persecution, or who might suffer persecution afterward.
And holy - That is, no one will be thus honored who has not an established character for holiness. Holy principles will then reign, and none will be exalted to that honor who have not a character for eminent sanctity.
That hath part in the first resurrection - That participated in it; that is, who is associated with those who are thus raised up.
On such the second death hath no power - The "second death" is properly the death which the wicked will experience in the world of woe. See Rev 20:14. The meaning here is, that all who are here referred to as having part in the first resurrection will be secure against that. It will be one of the blessed privileges of heaven that there will be absolute security against death in any and every form; and when we think of what death is here, and still more when we think of "the bitter pains of the second death," we may well call that state "blessed" in which there will be eternal exemption from either.
But they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him - notes at Rev 1:6; Rev 5:10.
Section b. - Condition of the world in the period referred to in Rev 20:4-6.
I. It is well known that this passage is the principal one which is relied on by those who advocate the doctrine of the literal reign of Christ on the earth for a thousand years, or who hold what are called the doctrines of the "second advent." The points which are maintained by those who advocate these views are substantially:
(a) that at that period Christ will descend from heaven to reign personally upon the earth;
(b) that he will have a central place of power and authority, probably Jerusalem;
(c) that the righteous dead will then be raised, in such bodies as are to be immortal;
(d) that they will be his attendants, and will participate with him in the government of the world;
(e) that this will continue during the period of a thousand years;
(f) that the world will be subdued and converted during this period, not by moral means, but by "a new dispensation" - by the power of the Son of God; and,
(g) that at the close of this period all the remaining dead will be raised, the judgment will take place, and the affairs of the earth will be consummated.
The opinion here adverted to was held substantially by Papias, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus, Tertullian, and others among the Christian fathers, and, it need not be said, is held by many modern expositors of the Bible, and by large numbers of Christian ministers of high standing, and other Christians. See the "Literalist, passim." The opinion of the Christian fathers, with which the modern "literalists," as they are called, substantially coincide, is thus stated by Mr. Elliott: "This resurrection is to be literally that of departed saints and martyrs, then at length resuscitated in the body from death and the grave; its time to synchronize with, or follow instantly after, the destruction of the beast antichrist, on Christ's personal second advent; the "binding" of Satan to be an absolute restriction of the power of hell from tempting, deceiving, or injuring mankind, throughout a literal period of a thousand years, thence calculated; the "government of the earth" during its continuance to be administered by Christ and the risen saints - the latter being now ἰσάγγελοι isangeloi - in nature like angels; and under it, all false religion having been put down, the Jews and saved remnant of the Gentiles been converted to Christ, the earth renovated by the fire of antichrist's destruction, and Jerusalem made the universal capital, there will be a realization on earth of the blessedness depicted in the Old Testament prophecies, as well as perhaps of that too which is associated with the New Jerusalem in the visions of the Apocalypse - until at length this millennium having ended, and Satan gone forth to deceive the nations, the final consummation will follow; the new-raised enemies of the saints, Gog and Magog, be destroyed by fire from heaven: and then the general resurrection and judgment take place, the devil and his servants be cast into the lake of fire, and the millennial reign of the saints extend itself into one of eternal duration" (Elliott on the Apocalypse, iv. 177, 178).
Mr. Elliott's own opinion, representing, it is supposed, that of the great body of the "literalists," is thus expressed: "It would seem, therefore, that in this state of things and of feeling in professing Christendom (a feeling of carnal security), all suddenly, and unexpectedly, and conspicuous over the world as the lightning that shineth from the east even unto the west, the second advent and appearing of Christ will take place; that at the accompanying voice of the archangel and trump of God, the departed saints of either dispensation will rise from their graves to meet him - alike patriarchs, and prophets, and apostles, and martyrs, and confessors - all at once and in the twinkling of an eye; and then instantly the saints living at the time will be also caught up to meet him in the air; these latter being separated out of the ungodly nations, as when a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats, and all, both dead and living saints, changed at the moment from corruption to incorruption, from dishonor to glory, though with very different degrees of glory; and so in a new angelic nature, to take part in the judging and ruling in this world.
Meanwhile, with a tremendous earthquake accompanying, of violence unknown since the Rev_olutions of primeval chaos, an earthquake under which the Roman world at least is to rock to and fro like a drunken man, the solid crust of this earth shall be broken, and fountains burst forth from its inner deep, not as once of water, but of liquid fire; and that the flames shall consume the antichrist and his confederate kings, while the sword also does its work of slaughter; the risen saints being perhaps the attendants of the Lord's glory in this destruction of antichrist, and assessors in his judgment on a guilty world. And then immediately the renovation of this our earth is to take place, its soil being purified by the very action of the fire, and the Spirit poured out from on high, to renew, in a yet better sense, the moral face of nature; the Shekinah, or personal glory of Christ amidst his saints, being manifested chiefly in the Holy Land and at Jerusalem, but the whole earth partaking of the blessedness; and thus the regeneration of all things, and the world's redemption from the curse, having their accomplishment, according to the promise, at the manifestation of the sons of God," 4:224-231.
To this account of the pRev_ailing opinion of the "literalists" in interpreting the passage before us, there should be added that of Prof. Stuart, who, in general, is as far as possible from sympathizing with this class of writers. He says, in his explanation of the expression "they lived," in Rev 20:4, "There would seem to remain, therefore, only one meaning which can be consistently given to ἔζησαν ezē san (they lived); namely, that they (the martyrs who renounced the beast) are now "restored to life," namely, such life as implies the vivification of the body. Not to a union of the soul with a gross material body indeed, but with such an one as the saints in general will have at the final resurrection - a spiritual body, Co1 15:44. In no other way can this resurrection be ranked as "correlate" with the second resurrection named in the sequel," vol. ii. p. 360. So again, Excursus vi. (vol. ii. p. 476), he says, "I do not see how we can, on the ground of exegesis, fairly avoid the conclusion that John has taught in the passage before us, that there will be a resurrection of the martyr-saints, at the commencement of the period after Satan shall have been shut up in the dungeon of the great abyss." This opinion he defends at length, pp. 476-490. Prof. Stuart, indeed, maintains that the martyrs thus raised up will be taken to heaven and reign with Christ "there," and opposes the whole doctrine of the literal reign on the earth, vol. ii. p. 480. The risen saints and martyrs are to be "enthroned with Christ; that is, they are to be where he dwells, and where he will continue to dwell, until he shall make his descent at the final judgment day."
II. In regard to these views, as expressive of the meaning of the passage under consideration, I would make the following remarks:
(1) There is strong "presumptive" evidence against this interpretation, and especially against the main point in the doctrine, that there will be a literal "resurrection" of the bodies of the saints at the beginning of that millennial period, to live and reign with Christ on earth, from the following circumstances:
(a) It is admitted, on all hands, that this doctrine, if contained in the Scriptures at all, is found in this one passage only. It is not pretended that there is, in any other place, a direct affirmation that this will literally occur, nor would the advocates for that opinion undertake to show that it is fairly implied in any other part of the Bible. But it is strange, not to say improbable, that the doctrine of the literal resurrection of the righteous, a thousand years before the wicked, should be announced in one passage only. If it were so announced in plain and unambiguous language, I admit that the believer in the divine origin of the Scriptures would be bound to receive it; but this is so contrary to the usual method of the Scriptures on all great and important doctrines, that this circumstance should lead us at least to doubt whether the passage is correctly interpreted. The resurrection of the dead is a subject on which the Saviour often dwelt in his instructions; it is a subject which the apostles discussed very frequently and at great length in their preaching, and in their writings; it is presented by them in a great variety of forms, for the consolation of Christians in time of trouble, and with reference to the condition of the world at the winding up of human affairs; and it is strange that, in respect to so important a doctrine as this, if it be true, there is not elsewhere, in the New Testament, a hint, an intheation, an allusion, that would lead us to suppose that the righteous are to be raised in this manner.
(b) If this is a true doctrine, it would be reasonable to expect that a clear and unambiguous statement of it would be made. Certainly, if there is but one statement on the subject, that might be expected to be a perfectly clear one, it would be a statement about which there could be no diversity of opinion, concerning which those who embraced it might be expected to hold the same views. But it cannot be pretended that this is so in regard to this passage. It occurs in the book which, of all the books in the Bible, is most distinguished for figures and symbols; it cannot be maintained that it is "directly and clearly" affirmed; and it is not so taught that there is any uniformity of view among those who profess to hold it. In nothing has there been greater diversity among people than in the opinions of those who profess to hold the "literal" views respecting the personal reign of Christ on the earth. But this fact assuredly affords "presumptive" evidence that the doctrine of the literal resurrection of the saints a thousand years before the rest of the dead, is not intended to be taught.
(c) It is presumptive proof against this, that nothing is said of the employment of those who are raised up; of the reason why they are raised; of the new circumstances of their being; and of their condition when the thousand years shall have ended. In so important a matter as this, we can hardly suppose that the whole subject would be left to a single hint in a symbolical representation, depending on the doubtful meaning of a single word, and with nothing to enable us to determine, with absolute certainty, that this must be the meaning.
(d) If it be meant that this is a description of the resurrection of the "righteous" as such - embracing all the righteous - then it is wholly unlike all the other descriptions of the resurrection of the righteous that we have in the Bible. Here the account is confined to "those that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus," and to "those who had not worshipped the beast." If the righteous, as such, are here referred to, why are these particular classes specified? Why are not the usual general terms employed? Why is the account of the resurrection confined to these? Elsewhere in the Scriptures, the account of the resurrection is given in the most "general" terms (compare Mat 25:41; Joh 4:54; Joh 5:28-29; Rev 2:7; Co1 15:23; Phi 3:20-21; Th2 1:10; Heb 9:28; Jo1 2:28-29; Jo1 3:2); and if this had been the designed reference here, it is inconceivable why the statement should be limited to the martyrs, and to those who have evinced great fidelity in the midst of temptations and allurements to apostasy. These circumstances furnish strong "presumptive" proofs, at least, against the doctrine that there is to be a literal resurrection of all the saints at the beginning of the millennial period. Compare "Christ's Second Coming," by David Brown, p. 219ff.
(2) In reference to many of the views necessarily implied in the doctrine of the "second advent," and avowed by those who hold that doctrine, it cannot be pretended that they receive any countenance or support from this passage. In the language of Prof. Stuart (Com. vol. ii. p. 479), there is "not a word of Christ's descent to the earth at the beginning of the millennium. Nothing of the literal assembling of the Jews in Palestine; nothing of the Messiah's temporal reign on earth; nothing of the overflowing abundance of worldly peace and plenty." Indeed, in all this passage, there is not the remotest hint of the grandeur and magnificence of the reign of Christ as a literal king upon the earth; nothing of his having a splendid capital at Jerusalem, or anywhere else; nothing of a new dispensation of a miraculous kind; nothing of the renovation of the earth to fit it for the abode of the risen saints. All this is the mere work of fancy, and no man can pretend that it is to be found in this passage.
(3) nor is there anything here of a literal resurrection of the "bodies" of the dead, as Prof. Stuart himself supposes. It is not a little remarkable that a scholar so accurate as Prof. Stuart is, and one, too, who has so little sympathy with the doctrines connected with a literal reign of Christ on the earth, should have lent the sanction of his name to perhaps the most objectionable of all the dogmas connected with that view - the opinion that the "bodies" of the saints will be raised up at the beginning of the millennial period. Of this there is not one word, one intimation, one hint, in the passage before us. John says expressly, "and as if to guard the point from all possible danger of this construction," that he "saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus"; he saw them "living" and "reigning" with Christ - raised to the exalted honor during that period, as if they had been raised from the dead; but he nowhere mentions or intimates that they were raised up from their graves; that they were clothed with bodies; that they had their residence now literally on the earth; or that they were, in any way, otherwise than disembodied spirits. There is not even one word of their having "a spiritual body."
(4) there are "positive" arguments, which are perfectly decisive, against the interpretation which supposes that the bodies of the saints will be raised up at the beginning of the millennial period, to reign with Christ on the earth for a thousand years. Among these are the following:
(a) If the "first resurrection" means rising from the grave in immortal and glorified bodies, we do not need the assurance Rev 20:6, that on such the second death hath no power"; that is, that they would not perish foRev_er. That would be a matter of course, and there was no necessity for such a statement. But if it be supposed that the main idea is that the "principles" of the martyrs and of the most eminent saints would be Rev_ived and would live, as if the dead were raised up, and would be manifested by those who were in "mortal" bodies - people living on the earth - then there would be a propriety in saying that all such were exempt from the danger of the "second" death. "Once," indeed, they would die; but the "second" death could not reach them. Compare Rev 2:10-11.
(b) In the whole passage there are but two classes of people referred to. There are those "who have part in the first resurrection"; that is, according to the supposition, all the saints; and there are those over whom "the second death" has power. Into which of these classes are we to put the myriads of people having flesh and blood who are to people the world during the millennium? They have no part in "the first resurrection," if it be a bodily one. Are they then given over to the power of the "second death?" But if the "first resurrection" be regarded as figurative and spiritual, then the statement that those who are actuated by the spirit of the martyrs and of the eminent saints, shall not experience the "second death," is seen to have meaning and pertinency.
(c) The mention of the "time" during which they are to reign, if it be literally understood, is contrary to the whole statement of the Bible in other places. They are to "live and reign with Christ" "a thousand years." What, then? Are they to live no longer? Are they to reign no longer with him? This supposition is entirely contrary to the current statement in the Scriptures, which is, that they are to live and reign with him foRev_er: Th1 4:17, "And so shall we ever be with the Lord." According to the views of the "literalists," the declaration that they "should live and reign with Christ," considered as the characteristic features of the millennial state, is to terminate with the thousand years - for this is the promise, according to that view, that they should thus live and reign. But it need not be said that this is wholly contrary to the current doctrine of the Bible, that they are to live and reign with him foRev_er.
(d) A further objection to this view is, that the wicked part of the world - "the rest of the dead who lived not again until the thousand years were finished" - must of course be expected to "live again" in the same bodily sense wheat those thousand years were finished. But, so far from this, there is no mention of their living then. When the thousand years are finished, Satan is loosed for a season; then the nations are roused to opposition against God; then there is a conflict, and the hostile forces are overthrown; and then comes the final judgment. During all this time we read of no resurrection at all. The period after this is to be filled up with something besides the resurrection of the "rest of the dead." There is no intheation, as the "literal" construction, as it is claimed, would demand, that immediately after the "thousand years arc finished" the "rest of the dead" - the wicked dead - would be raised up; nor is there any intimation of such a resurrection until all the dead are raised up for the final trial, Rev 20:12. But every consideration demands, if the interpretation of the "literalists" be correct, that the "rest of the dead" - the unconverted dead - should be raised up immediately after the close of the millennial period, and be raised up as a distinct and separate class.
(e) There is no intimation in the passage itself that the "righteous" will be raised up "as such" in this period, and the proper interpretation of the passage is contrary to that supposition. There are but two classes mentioned as having part in the first resurrection. They are those who were "beheaded for the witness of Jesus," and those who "had not worshipped the beast" - that is, the martyrs, and those who had been eminent for their fidelity to the Saviour in times of great temptation and trial. There is no mention of the resurrection of the righteous as "such" - of the resurrection of the great body of the redeemed; and if it could be shown that this refers to a "literal" resurrection, it would be impossible to apply it, according to any just rules of interpretation, to anymore than the two classes that are specified. By what rules of interpretation is it made to to teach that "all" the righteous will be raised up on that occasion, and will live on the earth during that long period? In this view of the matter, the passage "does not" express the doctrine that the whole church ofi God will be raised bodily from the grave. And supposing it had been the design of the Spirit of God to teach this, is it credible, when there are so many clear expressions in regard to the resurrection of the dead, that so important a doctrine should have been reserved for one single passage so obscure, and where the great mass of the readers of the Bible in all ages have failed to perceive it? That is not the way in which, in the Scriptures, great and momentous doctrines are communicated to mankind.
(f) The fair statement in Rev 20:11-15 is, that all the dead will then be raised up and be judged. This is implied in the general expressions there used - "the dead, small and great"; the "book of life was opened" - as if not opened before; "the dead" - all the dead - "were judged out of those things which were written in the books"; "the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and hell (hades) delivered up the dead which were in them." This is entirely inconsistent with the supposition that a large part of the race to wit, all the righteous - had been before raised up; had passed the solemn judgment; had been clothed with their immortal bodies, and had been admitted to a joint reign with the Saviour on his throne. In the last judgment what place are they to occupy? In what sense are they to be raised up and judged? Would such a representation have been made as is found in Rev 20:11-15, if it had been designed to teach that a large part of the race had been already raised up, and had received the approval of their judge?
(g) This representation is wholly inconsistent, not only with Rev 20:11-15, but with the uniform language of the Scriptures, "that all the righteous and the wicked will be judged together, and both at the coming of Christ." On no point are the statements of the Bible more uniform and explicit than on this, and it would seem that the declarations had been of design so made that there should be no possibility of mistake. I refer for full proof on this point to the following passages of the New Testament: Mat 10:32-33, compared with Mat 7:21-23; Mat 13:30, Mat 13:38-43; Mat 16:24-27; Mat 25:10, Mat 31-46; Mar 8:38; Joh 5:28-29; Act 17:31; Rom 2:5-16; Rom 14:10, Rom 14:12; Co1 3:12-15; Co1 4:5; Co2 5:9-11; Th2 1:6-10; Ti1 5:24-25; Pe2 3:7, Pe2 3:10, Pe2 3:12; Jo1 2:28; Jo1 4:17; Rev 3:5; Rev 20:11-15; Rev 22:12-15. It is utterly "impossible" to explain these passages on any other supposition than that they are intended to teach that the righteous and the wicked will be judged together, and both at the coming of Christ. And if this is so, it is of course impossible to explain them consistently with the view that all the righteous will have been already raised up at the beginning of the millennium in their immortal and glorified bodies, and that they have been solemnly approved by the Saviour, and admitted to a participation in his glory. Nothing could be more irreconcilable than these two views; and it seems to me, therefore, that the objections to the literal resurrection of the saints at the beginning of the millennial period are insuperable.
III. The following points, then, according to the interpretation proposed, are implied in this statement respecting the "first resurrection," and these will clearly comprise all that is stated on the subject:
(1) There will be a Rev_iving, and a pRev_alence of the spirit which actuated the saints in the best days, and a restoration of their principles as the grand principles which will control and govern the church, as if the most eminent saints were raised again from the dead, and lived and acted upon the earth.
(2) their memory will then be sacredly cherished, and they will be honored on the earth with the honor which is due to theft names, and which they should have received when in the land of the living. They will be no longer cast out and reproached; no longer held up to obloquy and scorn; no longer despised and forgotten; but there will be a Rev_iving of sacred regard for their principles, as if they lived on the earth, and had the honor which was due to them.
(3) there will be a state of things upon the earth as if they thus lived and were thus honored. Religion will no longer be trampled under foot, but will triumph. In all parts of the earth it will have the ascendency, as if the most eminent saints of past ages lived and reigned with the Son of God in his kingdom. A spiritual kingdom will be set up with the Son of God at the head of it, which will be a kingdom of eminent holiness, as if the saints of the best days of the church should come back to the earth and dwell upon it. The ruling influence in the world will be the religion of the Son of God, and the principles which have governed the most holy of his people.
(4) it may be implied that the saints and martyrs of other times will be employed by the Saviour in embassies of mercy; in visitations of grace to our world to carry forward the great work of salvation on earth. Nothing forbids the idea that the saints in heaven may be thus employed, and in this long period of a thousand years, it may be that they will be occupied in such messages and agencies of mercy to our world as they have never been before - as if they were raised from the dead, and were employed by the Redeemer to carry forward his purposes of mercy to mankind.
(5) in connection with these things, and in consequence of these things, they may be, during that period, exalted to higher happiness and honor in heaven. The restoration of their principles to the earth; the Christian remembrance of their virtues; the pRev_alence of those truths to establish which they laid down their lives, would in itself exalt them, and would increase their joy in heaven. All this would be well represented, in vision, by a resurrection of the dead; and admitting that this was all that was intended, the representation of John here would be in the highest degree appropriate. What could better symbolize it - and we must remember that this is a symbol - than to say that at the commencement of this period there was, as it were, a solemn preparation for a judgment, and that the departed dead seemed to stand there, and that a sentence was pronounced in their favor, and that they became associated with the Son of God in the honors of his kingdom, and that their principles were now to reign and triumph in the earth, and that the kingdom which they labored to establish would be set up for a thousand years, and that, in high purposes of mercy and benevolence during that period, they would be employed in maintaining and extending the principles of religion in the world? Admitting that the Holy Spirit intended to represent these things, and these only, no more appropriate symbolical language could have been used; none that would more accord with the general style of the Book of Revelation.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
20:6: Blessed: Rev 20:5, Rev 14:13, Rev 22:7; Isa 4:3; Dan 12:12; Luk 14:15
the second: Rev 20:14, Rev 2:11, Rev 21:8
priests: Rev 1:6, Rev 5:10; Isa 61:6; Rom 12:1; Pe1 2:5, Pe1 2:9
and shall: Rev 20:4, Rev 1:6, Rev 5:10; Rom 8:17; Ti2 2:12
Geneva 1599
20:6 Blessed and holy [is] he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the (12) second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, (13) and shall reign with him a thousand years.
(12) That by this both body and soul, that is, the whole man is condemned and delivered to eternal death; (Rev_ 2:11).
(13) A return to the intended history, by resuming the words which are in the end of the fourth verse (Rev_ 20:4).
John Gill
20:6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection,.... This may be considered either as descriptive of the persons that shall partake of this privilege; as that they are only such who are blessed with spiritual blessings, with a justifying righteousness, with pardon of sin, and regenerating grace, and who are sanctified by the Spirit of God; these, and these only, will be first raised, and will be called to inherit the kingdom prepared for them, Mt 25:34 or else as expressive of their happiness and holiness when raised; they shall be perfectly blessed in soul and body, and perfectly holy in both: they shall be "blessed", for
on such the second death hath no power; which is the lake of fire, Rev_ 20:14 the sense is, they shall escape everlasting burnings, the fire of hell, the torment and misery of the wicked; they shall be delivered from wrath to come; and as their bodies will die no more, their souls will not be subject to any sense of wrath, or to any sort of punishment: and they will be "holy"; they will have no sin in them:
but they will be priests of God and of Christ; of God the Father, and of his Son Jesus Christ, being made so to the former by the latter, Rev_ 1:6 or of God, even of Christ, that is, of God, who is Christ, since it follows:
and shall reign with him; they will be wholly devoted to and employed in the service of God and of Christ, and will be continually offering up the sacrifices of praise, or singing the song of the Lamb, adoring the grace and goodness of God and Christ unto them, shown them both in providence and in grace:
and shall reign with him a thousand years; this is mentioned again, partly to assert the certainty of it, and partly to point at the blessedness of the risen saints.
John Wesley
20:6 They shall be priests of God and of Christ - Therefore Christ is God. And shall reign with him - With Christ, a thousand years.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
20:6 Blessed--(Compare Rev_ 14:13; Rev_ 19:9).
on such the second death hath no power--even as it has none on Christ now that He is risen.
priests of God--Apostate Christendom being destroyed, and the believing Church translated at Christ's coming, there will remain Israel and the heathen world, constituting the majority of men then alive, which, from not having come into close contact with the Gospel, have not incurred the guilt of rejecting it. These will be the subjects of a general conversion (Rev_ 11:15). "The veil" shall be taken off Israel first, then from off "all people." The glorious events attending Christ's appearing, the destruction of Antichrist, the transfiguration of the Church, and the binding of Satan, will prepare the nations for embracing the Gospel. As individual regeneration goes on now, so there shall be a "regeneration" of nations then. Israel, as a nation, shall be "born at once--in one day." As the Church began at Christ's ascension, so the kingdom shall begin at His second advent. This is the humiliation of the modern civilized nations, that nations which they despise most, Jews and uncivilized barbarians, the negro descendants of Ham who from the curse of Noah have been so backward, Cush and Sheba, shall supplant and surpass them as centers of the world's history (compare Deut 32:21; Rom 10:19; Rom 11:20, &c.). The Jews are our teachers even in New Testament times. Since their rejection revelation has been silent. The whole Bible, even the New Testament, is written by Jews. If revelation is to recommence in the millennial kingdom, converted Israel must stand at the head of humanity. In a religious point of view, Jews and Gentiles stand on an equal footing as both alike needing mercy; but as regards God's instrumentalities for bringing about His kingdom on earth, Israel is His chosen people for executing His plans. The Israelite priest-kings on earth are what the transfigured priest-kings are in heaven. There shall be a blessed chain of giving and receiving--God, Christ, the transfigured Bride the Church, Israel, the world of nations. A new time of revelation will begin by the outpouring of the fulness of the Spirit. Ezekiel (the fortieth through forty-eighth chapters), himself son of a priest, sets forth the priestly character of Israel; Daniel the statesman, its kingly character; Jeremiah (Jer 33:17-21), both its priestly and kingly character. In the Old Testament the whole Jewish national life was religious only in an external legal manner. The New Testament Church insists on inward renewal, but leaves its outward manifestations free. But in the millennial kingdom, all spheres of life shall be truly Christianized from within outwardly. The Mosaic ceremonial law corresponds to Israel's priestly office; the civil law to its kingly office: the Gentile Church adopts the moral law, and exercises the prophetic office by the word working inwardly. But when the royal and the priestly office shall be revived, then--the principles of the Epistle to the Hebrews remaining the same--also the ceremonial and civil law of Moses will develop its spiritual depths in the divine worship (compare Mt 5:17-19). At present is the time of preaching; but then the time of the Liturgy of converted souls forming "the great congregation" shall come. Then shall our present defective governments give place to perfect governments in both Church and State. Whereas under the Old Testament the Jews exclusively, and in the New Testament the Gentiles exclusively, enjoy the revelation of salvation (in both cases humanity being divided and separated), in the millennium both Jews and Gentiles are united, and the whole organism of mankind under the first-born brother, Israel, walks in the light of God, and the full life of humanity is at last realized. Scripture does not view the human race as an aggregate of individuals and nationalities, but as an organic whole, laid down once for all in the first pages of revelation. (Gen 9:25-27; Gen 10:1, Gen 10:5, Gen 10:18, Gen 10:25, Gen 10:32; Deut 32:8 recognizes the fact that from the first the division of the nations was made with a relation to Israel). Hence arises the importance of the Old Testament to the Church now as ever. Three grand groups of nations, Hamites, Japhetites, and Shemites, correspond respectively to the three fundamental elements in man--body, soul, and spirit. The flower of Shem, the representative of spiritual life, is Israel, even as the flower of Israel is He in whom all mankind is summed up, the second Adam (Gen 12:1-3). Thus Israel is the mediator of divine revelations for all times. Even nature and the animal world will share in the millennial blessedness. As sin loses its power, decay and death will decrease [AUBERLEN]. Earthly and heavenly glories shall be united in the twofold election. Elect Israel in the flesh shall stand at the head of the earthly, the elect spiritual Church, the Bride, in the heavenly. These twofold elections are not merely for the good of the elect themselves, but for the good of those to whom they minister. The heavenly Church is elected not merely to salvation, but to rule in love, and minister blessings over the whole earth, as king-priests. The glory of the transfigured saints shall be felt by men in the flesh with the same consciousness of blessing as on the Mount of Transfiguration the three disciples experienced in witnessing the glory of Jesus, and of Moses and Elias, when Peter exclaimed, "It is good for us to be here"; in 2Pet 1:16-18, the Transfiguration is regarded as the earnest of Christ's coming in glory. The privilege of "our high calling in Christ" is limited to the present time of Satan's reign; when he is bound, there will be no scope for suffering for, and so afterwards reigning with, Him (Rev_ 3:21; compare Note, see on 1Cor 6:2). Moreover, none can be saved in the present age and in the pale of the Christian Church who does not also reign with Christ hereafter, the necessary preliminary to which is suffering with Christ now. If we fail to lay hold of the crown, we lose all, "the gift of grace as well as the reward of service" [DE BURGH].
20:720:7: Եւ յետ հազար ամին լուծցէ՛ զՍատանայ՝ եւ հանցէ՛ ՚ի բանտէ անտի. ելցէ՛ եւ մոլորեցուսցէ զազգս ամենայն ընդ չո՛րս կողմանս երկրի. եւ զԳո՛գ եւ զՄագոգ առցէ ՚ի ձեռս՝ ժողովել նոքօք զամենայն զօրս ՚ի պատերազմ. որոյ թի՛ւ նոցա իբրեւ զաւազ ծովու[5331]: [5331] Ոմանք. Որոց թիւ նոցա իբ՛՛։
7 Հազար տարի յետոյ հրեշտակը պիտի արձակի Սատանային եւ պիտի հանի բանտից. եւ սա պիտի ելնի ու պիտի մոլորեցնի բոլոր ազգերին երկրի չորս կողմերում. Գոգը եւ Մագոգը ձեռքը պիտի առնի՝ դրանցով հաւաքելու համար բոլոր զօրքերը, որ պատերազմեն. եւ նրանց թիւը՝ ինչպէս ծովի աւազը.
7 Հազար տարին լրանալէն վերջը պիտի արձակուի Սատանան իր բանտէն,
Եւ յետ հազար ամին [312]լուծցէ զՍատանայ եւ հանցէ ի բանտէ անտի. ելցէ`` եւ մոլորեցուսցէ զազգս ամենայն ընդ չորս կողմանս երկրի, [313]զԳոգ եւ զՄագոգ առցէ ի ձեռս ժողովել նոքօք զամենայն զօրս`` ի պատերազմ. որոց թիւ նոցա իբրեւ զաւազ ծովու:

20:7: Եւ յետ հազար ամին լուծցէ՛ զՍատանայ՝ եւ հանցէ՛ ՚ի բանտէ անտի. ելցէ՛ եւ մոլորեցուսցէ զազգս ամենայն ընդ չո՛րս կողմանս երկրի. եւ զԳո՛գ եւ զՄագոգ առցէ ՚ի ձեռս՝ ժողովել նոքօք զամենայն զօրս ՚ի պատերազմ. որոյ թի՛ւ նոցա իբրեւ զաւազ ծովու[5331]:
[5331] Ոմանք. Որոց թիւ նոցա իբ՛՛։
7 Հազար տարի յետոյ հրեշտակը պիտի արձակի Սատանային եւ պիտի հանի բանտից. եւ սա պիտի ելնի ու պիտի մոլորեցնի բոլոր ազգերին երկրի չորս կողմերում. Գոգը եւ Մագոգը ձեռքը պիտի առնի՝ դրանցով հաւաքելու համար բոլոր զօրքերը, որ պատերազմեն. եւ նրանց թիւը՝ ինչպէս ծովի աւազը.
7 Հազար տարին լրանալէն վերջը պիտի արձակուի Սատանան իր բանտէն,
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
20:77: Когда же окончится тысяча лет, сатана будет освобожден из темницы своей и выйдет обольщать народы, находящиеся на четырех углах земли, Гога и Магога, и собирать их на брань; число их как песок морской.
20:7  καὶ ὅταν τελεσθῇ τὰ χίλια ἔτη, λυθήσεται ὁ σατανᾶς ἐκ τῆς φυλακῆς αὐτοῦ,
20:7. Καὶ (And) ὅταν (which-also-ever) τελεσθῇ (it-might-have-been-finished-unto) τὰ (the-ones) χίλια ( thousand ) ἔτη, (years,"λυθήσεται (it-shall-be-loosed) ὁ (the-one) Σατανᾶς (a-satanas) ἐκ (out) τῆς (of-the-one) φυλακῆς (of-a-guarding) αὐτοῦ, (of-it,"
20:7. et cum consummati fuerint mille anni solvetur Satanas de carcere suo et exibit et seducet gentes quae sunt super quattuor angulos terrae Gog et Magog et congregabit eos in proelium quorum numerus est sicut harena marisAnd when the thousand years shall be finished, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison and shall go forth and seduce the nations which are over the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog: and shall gather them together to battle, the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
7. And when the thousand years are finished, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison:

7: Когда же окончится тысяча лет, сатана будет освобожден из темницы своей и выйдет обольщать народы, находящиеся на четырех углах земли, Гога и Магога, и собирать их на брань; число их как песок морской.
20:7  καὶ ὅταν τελεσθῇ τὰ χίλια ἔτη, λυθήσεται ὁ σατανᾶς ἐκ τῆς φυλακῆς αὐτοῦ,
20:7. et cum consummati fuerint mille anni solvetur Satanas de carcere suo et exibit et seducet gentes quae sunt super quattuor angulos terrae Gog et Magog et congregabit eos in proelium quorum numerus est sicut harena maris
And when the thousand years shall be finished, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison and shall go forth and seduce the nations which are over the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog: and shall gather them together to battle, the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
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А. П. Лопухин: Tолковая Библия или комментарий на все книги Св.Писания Ветхого и Нового Заветов - 1903-1914
7: Отдел XX гл. с 7-10: ст. сообщается Иоанном не в форме видения, но в форме пророчества. Пророческому взору Иоанна было открыто, что по прошествии тысячи лет, на которые сатана (диавол) был заключен в бездну, он снова будет освобожден из этой темницы, из своего состояния связанности в его деятельности. Диавол назван здесь сатаною, каковое название характеризует его со стороны его боговраждебности, со стороны его постоянного стремления препятствовать людям воспринимать Бож. благодать. Этот эсхатологический момент освобождения сатаны из бездны нужно рассматривать (ср. IX:1-11; XI:7) как ту самую деятельность диавола, которую он проявит пред концом мира, когда он для большего успеха воспользуется личностью антихриста и его лжепророка. Сатана выходит, т.е. открыто [Августин "О граде Бож. " 10:11] проявляет себя обольстителем земных народов (ср. IX:11; XIII:1). В 7: ст. обольщаемые народы названы Гогом и Магогом. С именами Гога и Магога мы встречаемся и в Свящ. Писании, и в Свящ. Писании Ветхого Завета. Магог - это имя одного из сыновей Иафета (Быт 10:2) и страны (Иез ХXXIX:6), царем которой был Гог (Иезек. 38:15-16). Имена Гога и Магога нужно рассматривать как указание на представителей народов, бывших орудием Бож. казни, и должны говорить нам о воинственности и жестокости этих народов. Они изображаются находящимися на четырех углах земли; это, значит, все народы вселенной, которыми будет пользоваться диавол чрез антихриста в своей боговраждебной деятельности. Нечестивые народы последнего времени, возбуждаемые диаволом и руководимые антихристом, соберутся на брань против святых (стана) и против возлюбленного города. Стан святых - это Церковь Христова [Августин, Андрей Кес.. Hengstenberg], общество истинно верующих христиан последнего времени в их противоположности последователям антихриста. Точно также и возлюбленный город есть та же самая Церковь, общество верующих гонимое, но твердое и славное Бож. помощью, верою в Бога, Который обитает среди них как бы в своем возлюбленном городе.
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
20:7: Satan shall be loosed - How can this bear any kind of literal interpretation? Satan is bound a thousand years, and the earth is in peace; righteousness flourishes, and Jesus Christ alone reigns. This state of things may continue for ever if the imprisonment of Satan be continued. Satan, however, is loosed at the end of the thousand years, and goes out and deceives the nations, and peace is banished from the face of the earth, and a most dreadful war takes place, etc., etc. These can be only symbolical representations, utterly incapable of the sense generally put upon them.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
20:7: And when the thousand years are expired - See Rev 20:2.
Satan shall be loosed out of his prison - See Rev 20:3. That is, a state of things will then occur as if Satan should be for a time let loose again, and should be permitted to go as formerly over the world. No intimation is given "why or how" he would be thus released from his prison. We are not, however, to infer that it would be a mere arbitrary act on the part of God. All that is necessary to be supposed is, that there would be, in certain parts of the world, a temporary outbreak of wickedness, as if Satan were for a time released from his chains.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
20:7: Rev 20:2
Geneva 1599
20:7 (14) And when the (15) thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
(14) The second history, of the latter victory of Christ, as was said in (Rev_ 20:1). In which are summarily described the work, overthrow, and eternal punishment of Satan.
(15) Of which I spoke. See Rev_ 20:2 Then there will be given to him liberty to rage against the Church, and to molest the saints for the sins of men: to whom the faithful shall have associated themselves more then was fitting, tasting with them of their impurity of doctrine and life.
John Gill
20:7 And when the thousand years are expired,.... Which are not yet expired; not in the year 1000, or 1033 or 4, reckoning from the birth or death of Christ, when Paganism, which had been destroyed in the Gentile world, was introduced into the church, which bore the Christian name, through the man of sin; for this had been bringing in by degrees more or less from the times of Constantine; whence it appears, that Satan in this respect was loose before, and therefore this was not the time of his loosing; nor in 1073, reckoning from the destruction of Jerusalem, and the carrying and spread of the Gospel among the Gentiles, in which year Hildebrand came to the popedom, who may be truly called the brand of hell; Damianus, a brother cardinal, who lived at the same time with him when he was archdeacon of Rome, calls him the holy devil; he was an impostor, sorcerer, and necromancer, and by wicked arts got into the Papal chair; this pope raised the Papal power over princes to a very great height, and made the see of Rome absolutely independent, and all bishops dependent on it; he forbid bishops receiving their investiture from the emperor, or any lay person, under pain of excommunication: this is the pope that made the emperor, with his empress and child, wait three days barefoot at his gates, in the depth of winter, before they could be admitted to him; that doctrine of devils, forbidding priests to marry, was established by him; and in his days that monstrous and absurd notion of transubstantiation began to prevail, though he himself used his breaden god but very roughly; for taking it to be really God, he required an answer from it against the emperor; but it not speaking, he threw it into the fire, and burnt it. Now it will be allowed, that the devil was loose at this time, but then so he was before: there had been popes before this who were conjurers, necromancers, and had familiarity and confederacy with the devil; and near five hundred years before this time, the pope was declared universal bishop by Phocas; and the forbidding priests marriage was started in the council of Nice, and was approved of by Pope Siricius, long before this time, though it was now more firmly established; add to this, that if the expiration of the 1000 years and the loosing of Satan were at this time, he must have been loosed near 700 years, which can never be called a little season, as in Rev_ 20:3 especially in comparison of the 1000 years, the time of his binding; when it is two thirds of that time: nor did these years expire in or about 1300, reckoning from Constantine, about which time Pope Boniface the Eighth lived, of whom it is said, that he came in like a fox, railed like a lion, and died like a dog; upon his accession to the popedom, he instituted a jubilee, and on the first day he appeared in his pontifical habit, and gave the benediction to the people, and on the next day he clothed himself with an imperial habit, and put on a rich diadem, and sat on a throne, with a naked sword bore before him, when he uttered these words, "Ecce hic duo gladii", "Behold here are two swords", referring to Lk 22:38 which the Papists would have understood of the temporal and spiritual power which Peter and his successors are possessed of; at the same time Ottoman was crowned emperor of the Mahometan nations, who founded the Turkish empire, and spread the Mahometan religion in Asia and Greece; and by both these, great disturbances and wars were occasioned, both in the east and west: but still this does not make it appear that now was the time of Satan's loosing; since before this time the Papal power was at its utmost height, and the Mahometan religion had been hundreds of years in the world, and had greatly prevailed; and therefore Satan must be loosed before; and indeed it is in vain to seek after the expiration of these years, and the loosing of Satan, when as yet the years are not begun, nor has Satan been bound, as has been shown on Rev_ 20:2 but however, when they will be ended,
Satan shall be loosed out of his prison; during the thousand years he will be in a state of confinement, being bound, shut, and sealed up in the bottomless pit, which is therefore here called a prison, as is the place of damned spirits, in 1Pet 3:19 but when these will be at an end; his chain will be taken off, at least will be lengthened; the seal upon him will be broken off, the bottomless pit will be opened, and he let loose; which will be done not by himself, but by him that bound him, or by divine permission.
John Wesley
20:7 And when the former thousand years are fulfilled, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison - At the same time that the first resurrection begins. There is a great resemblance between this passage and Rev_ 12:12. At the casting out of the dragon, there was joy in heaven, but there was woe upon earth: so at the loosing of Satan, the saints begin to reign with Christ; but the nations on earth are deceived.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
20:7 expired--Greek, "finished."
20:820:8: Եւ ելցե՛ն ՚ի լայնութիւն երկրի, եւ պատեսցեն շուրջ զբանակս սրբոցն, եւ զքաղաքին սիրելւոյ[5332]: [5332] Ոմանք. ՚Ի լայնութիւնս երկ՛՛։ Ոսկան. Պատեսցեն զբանակս սրբոցն եւ զքաղաքն սիրելի։
8 նրանք պիտի դուրս գան երկրի ամբողջ լայնքով եւ պիտի շրջապատեն սրբերի բանակներն ու սիրելի քաղաքը:
8 որ պիտի ելլէ ու մոլորեցնէ երկրին չորս անկիւնները եղող ազգերը՝ Գոգն ու Մագոգը՝ որպէս զի զանոնք պատերազմի հաւաքէ, որոնց համրանքը ծովու աւազին չափ է։Երկրին ընդարձակութեանը մէջ ելան եւ սուրբերուն բանակը ու սիրելի քաղաքը չորս կողմէն պատեցին։
Եւ [314]ելցեն ի լայնութիւն երկրի եւ [315]պատեսցեն շուրջ զբանակս սրբոցն եւ [316]զքաղաքին սիրելւոյ:

20:8: Եւ ելցե՛ն ՚ի լայնութիւն երկրի, եւ պատեսցեն շուրջ զբանակս սրբոցն, եւ զքաղաքին սիրելւոյ[5332]:
[5332] Ոմանք. ՚Ի լայնութիւնս երկ՛՛։ Ոսկան. Պատեսցեն զբանակս սրբոցն եւ զքաղաքն սիրելի։
8 նրանք պիտի դուրս գան երկրի ամբողջ լայնքով եւ պիտի շրջապատեն սրբերի բանակներն ու սիրելի քաղաքը:
8 որ պիտի ելլէ ու մոլորեցնէ երկրին չորս անկիւնները եղող ազգերը՝ Գոգն ու Մագոգը՝ որպէս զի զանոնք պատերազմի հաւաքէ, որոնց համրանքը ծովու աւազին չափ է։
Երկրին ընդարձակութեանը մէջ ելան եւ սուրբերուն բանակը ու սիրելի քաղաքը չորս կողմէն պատեցին։
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
20:88: И вышли на широту земли, и окружили стан святых и город возлюбленный.
20:8  καὶ ἐξελεύσεται πλανῆσαι τὰ ἔθνη τὰ ἐν ταῖς τέσσαρσιν γωνίαις τῆς γῆς, τὸν γὼγ καὶ μαγώγ, συναγαγεῖν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸν πόλεμον, ὧν ὁ ἀριθμὸς αὐτῶν ὡς ἡ ἄμμος τῆς θαλάσσης.
20:8. καὶ (and) ἐξελεύσεται ( it-shall-come-out ) πλανῆσαι (to-have-wandered-unto) τὰ (to-the-ones) ἔθνη (to-nations) τὰ (to-the-ones) ἐν (in) ταῖς ( unto-the-ones ) τέσσαρσι ( unto-four ) γωνίαις ( unto-anglings-unto ) τῆς ( of-the-one ) γῆς , ( of-a-soil ," τὸν ( to-the-one ) Γὼγ ( to-a-Gog ) καὶ ( and ) Μαγώγ , ( to-a-Magog ,"συναγαγεῖν (to-have-had-led-together) αὐτοὺς (to-them) εἰς (into) τὸν (to-the-one) πόλεμον, (to-a-war," ὧν ( of-which ) ὁ (the-one) ἀριθμὸς (a-number) αὐτῶν (of-them) ὡς (as) ἡ (the-one) ἄμμος (a-sand) τῆς (of-the-one) θαλάσσης. (of-a-sea)
20:8. et ascenderunt super latitudinem terrae et circumierunt castra sanctorum et civitatem dilectamAnd they came upon the breadth of the earth and encompassed the camp of the saints and the beloved city.
8. and shall come forth to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to the war: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom [is] as the sand of the sea:

8: И вышли на широту земли, и окружили стан святых и город возлюбленный.
20:8  καὶ ἐξελεύσεται πλανῆσαι τὰ ἔθνη τὰ ἐν ταῖς τέσσαρσιν γωνίαις τῆς γῆς, τὸν γὼγ καὶ μαγώγ, συναγαγεῖν αὐτοὺς εἰς τὸν πόλεμον, ὧν ὁ ἀριθμὸς αὐτῶν ὡς ἡ ἄμμος τῆς θαλάσσης.
20:8. et ascenderunt super latitudinem terrae et circumierunt castra sanctorum et civitatem dilectam
And they came upon the breadth of the earth and encompassed the camp of the saints and the beloved city.
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Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
20:8: Gog and Magog - This seems to be almost literally taken from the Jerusalem Targum, and that of Jonathan ben Uzziel, on Num 11:26. I shall give the words at length: "And there were two men left in the camp, the name of the one was Eldad, the name of the other was Medad, and on them the spirit of prophecy rested. Eldad prophesied and said, 'Behold, Moses the prophet, the scribe of Israel, shall be taken from this world; and Joshua the son of Nun, captain of the host, shall succeed him.' Medad prophesied and said, 'Behold quails shall arise out of the sea, and be a stumbling block to Israel.' Then they both prophesied together, and said, 'In the very end of time Gog and Magog and their army shall come up against Jerusalem, and they shall fall by the hand of the King Messiah; and for seven whole years shall the children of Israel light their fires with the wood of their warlike engines, and they shall not go to the wood nor cut down any tree.'" In the Targum of Jonathan ben Uzziel, on the same place, the same account is given; only the latter part, that is, the conjoint prophecy of Eldad and Medad, is given more circumstantially, thus: "And they both prophesied together, and said, 'Behold, a king shall come up from the land of Magog in the last days, and shall gather the kings together, and leaders clothed with armor, and all people shall obey them; and they shall wage war in the land of Israel against the children of the captivity, but the hour of lamentation has been long prepared for them, for they shall be slain by the flame of fire which shall proceed from under the throne of glory, and their dead carcasses shall fall on the mountains of the land of Israel; and all the wild beasts of the field, and the wild fowl of heaven, shall come and devour their carcasses; and afterwards all the dead of Israel shall rise again to life, and shall enjoy the delights prepared for them from the beginning, and shall receive the reward of their worlds.'"
This account seems most evidently to have been copied by St. John, but how he intended it to be applied is a question too difficult to be solved by the skill of man; yet both the account in the rabbins and in St. John is founded on Ezekiel, Ezekiel 38:1-39:29. The rabbinical writings are full of accounts concerning Gog and Magog, of which Wetstein has made a pretty large collection in his notes on this place. Under these names the enemies of God's truth are generally intended.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
20:8: And shall go out to deceive the nations - See the notes on Rev 12:9. The meaning here is, that he would again, for a time, act in his true character, and in some way delude the nations once more. In what way this would be done is not stated. It would be, however, clearly an appeal to the wicked passions of mankind, exciting a hope that they might yet overthrow the kingdom of God on the earth.
Which are in the four quarters of the earth - Literally, corners of the earth, as if the earth were one extended square plain. The earth is usually spoken of as divided into four parts or quarters - the eastern, the western, the northern, and the southern. It is implied here that the deception or apostasy referred to would not be confined to one spot or portion of the world, but would extend afar. The idea seems to be, that during that period, though there would be a "general" pRev_alence of the gospel, and a "general" diffusion of its blessings, yet that the earth would not be entirely under its influence, and especially that the native character of the human heart would not be changed. Man, under powerful temptations, would be liable to be deluded by the great master spirit that has so often corrupted the race. Once more he would be permitted to make the trial, and then his power would foRev_er come to an end.
Gog and Magog - The name "Gog" occurs as the name of a prince in Eze 38:2-3, Eze 38:16, Eze 38:18; Eze 39:1, Eze 39:11. "He is an invader of the land of Israel, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal," Eze 38:2. "Magog" is also mentioned in Eze 38:2, "the land of Magog"; and in Eze 39:6, "I will send a fire on Magog." As the terms are used in the Old Testament, the representation would seem to be that "Gog" was the king of a people called "Magog." The signification of the names is unknown, and consequently nothing can be determined about the meaning of this passage from that source. Nor is there much known about the "people" who are referred to by Ezekiel. His representation would seem to be, that a great and powerful people, dwelling in the extreme recesses of the north Eze 38:15; Eze 39:2, would invade the Holy Land after the return from the exile, Eze 38:8-12. It is commonly supposed that they were Scythians, residing between the Caspian and Euxine Seas, or in the region of Mount Caucasus. Thus Josephus (Ant Eze 1:6, Eze 1:3) has dropped the Hebrew word Magog, and rendered it by Σκύθαι Skuthai - "Scythians"; and so does Jerome. Suidas renders it Persai - Persians; but this does not materially vary the view, since the word "Scythians," among the ancient writers, is a collective word, to denote all the northeastern, unknown, barbarous tribes.
Among the Hebrews, the name "Magog" also would seem to denote all the unknown barbarous tribes about the Caucasian mountains. The fact that the names Gog and Magog are, in Ezekiel, associated with Meshech and Tubal, seems to determine the locality of these people, for those two countries lie between the Euxine and Caspian Seas, or at the southeast extremity of the Euxine Sea (Rosenmuller, Bib. Geog. vol. 1, p. 240). The people of that region were, it seems, a terror to Middle Asia, in the same manner as the Scythians were to the Greeks and Romans. Intercourse with such distant and savage nations was scarcely possible in ancient times; and hence, from their numbers and strength, they were regarded with great terror, just as the Scythians were regarded by the ancient Greeks and Romans, and as the Tartars were in the middle ages. In this manner they became an appropriate symbol of rude and savage people; of enemies fierce and warlike; of foes to be dreaded; and as such they were referred to by both Ezekiel and John. It has been made a question whether Ezekiel and John do not refer to the same period, but it is not necessary to consider that question here.
All that is needful to be understood is, that John means to say that at the time referred to there would be formidable enemies of the church who might be compared with the dreaded dwellers in the land of Magog; or, that after this long period of millennial tranquility and peace, there would be a state of things which might be properly compared with the invasion of the Holy Land by the dreaded barbarians of Magog or Scythia. It is not necessary to suppose that any particular "country" is referred to, or that there would be any one portion of the earth which the gospel would not reach, and which would be still barbarous, pagan, and savage; all that is necessary to be supposed is, that though religion would generally pRev_ail, human nature would remain essentially corrupt and unchanged; and that, therefore, from causes which are not stated, there might yet be a fearful apostasy, and a somewhat general pRev_alence of iniquity. This would be nothing more than has occurred after the most favored times in the church, and nothing more than human nature would exhibit at any time, if all restraints were withdrawn, and people were suffered to act out their native feelings. "Why" this will be permitted; what causes will bring it about; what subordinate agencies will be employed, is not said, and conjecture would be vain. The reader who wishes more information in regard to Gog and Magog may consult Prof. Stuart on this book, vol. 2, pp. 364-368, and the authorities there referred to. Compare especially Rosenmuller on Eze 38:2. See also Sale's "Koran," Pre. Dis. section 4, and the "Koran" itself, Sura 18:94 and 21:95.
To gather them together to battle - As if to assemble them for war; that is, a state of things would exist in regard to the kingdom of God and the pRev_alence of the true religion as if distant and barbarous nations should be aroused to make war on the church of God. The meaning is, that there would be an awakened hostility against the kingdom of Christ in the earth. See the notes on Rev 16:14.
The number of whom is as the sand of the sea - A common comparison in the Scriptures to denote a great multitude, Gen 22:17; Gen 32:12; Gen 41:49; Sa1 13:5; Kg1 4:20, et al.
Section c. - Condition of things in the period referred to in Rev 20:7-8;
(1) This will occur "at the close" of the millennial period - the period of the thousand years. It is not said, indeed, that it would be "immediately" after that; but the statement is explicit that it will be "after" that, or "when the thousand years are expired." There may be an interval before it shall be accomplished of an indefinite time; the alienation and corruption may be gradual; a considerable period may elapse before the apostasy shall assume an organized form, or, in the language of John, before the hosts shall "be gathered to battle," but it is to be the "next" marked and prominent event in the history of the world, and is to precede the final consummation of all things.
(2) this will be a "brief period." Compared with the long period of prosperity that preceded it, and "perhaps" compared with the long period that shall follow it before the final judgment, it will be short. Thus, in Rev 20:3, it is said that Satan "must be loosed a little season." See the notes on that verse. There is no way of determining the time with exactness; but we are assured that it will not be long.
(3) what will be the exact state of things then can be only a matter of conjecture. We may say, however, that it will not be:
(a) necessarily "war." The language is figurative and symbolical, and it is not necessary to suppose that an actual and bloody warfare will be literally waged against the church. Nor,
(b) will there be a literal invasion of the land of Palestine as the residence of the saints and the capital of the Redeemer's visible empire, for there is not a hint of this - not a word to justify such an interpretation. Nor,
(c) is it necessary to suppose that there will be literally such nations as will be then called "Gog and Magog," for this language is figurative, and designed to characterize the foes of the church - as being in some respects formidable and terrible as were those ancient nations.
We may thus suppose that at that time, from causes which are unexplained, there will be:
(a) a Rev_ived opposition to the truths of religion;
(b) the pRev_alence, to a greater or less extent, of infidelity;
(c) a great spiritual declension;
(d) a combination of interests opposed to the gospel;
(e) possibly some new form of error and delusion that shall extensively pRev_ail.
Satan may set up some new form of religion, or he may breathe into those that may already exist: a spirit of worldliness and vanity - some new manifestation of the religion of forms - that shall for a limited period produce a general decline and apostasy. As there is, however, no distinct specification of what will characterize the world at that time it is impossible to determine what is referred to anymore than in this general manner.
(4) A few remarks may, however, be made on the "probability" of what is here affirmed, for it seems contrary to what we should suppose would be the characteristics of the closing period of the world. The following remarks, then, may show that this anticipated state of things is not improbable:
(a) We are to remember that human nature will then be essentially the same as now. There is no intimation that man, as born into the world, will be then different from what he is now, or that any of the natural corrupt tendencies of the human heart will be changed. People will be "liable" to the same outbreaks of passion, to be influenced by the same forms of temptation, to fall into the same degeneracy and corruption, to feel the same unhappy influences of success and prosperity as now, for all this pertains to a fallen "nature," except as it is checked and controlled by grace. We often mistake much in regard to the millennial state by supposing that all the evils of the apostasy will be arrested and that the nature of man will be as wholly changed as it will be in the heavenly world.
(b) The whole history of the church has shown that there is a liability to "declension" even in the best state and in the condition of the highest spiritual prosperity. To see this we have only to remember the example of the Hebrews, and how readily they apostatized after the most striking manifestation of the divine mercies; the early Christian church, and how soon it declined; the seven churches of Asia Minor, and how soon their spirituality departed; the various Rev_ivals of religion that have occurred from time to time, and how soon they have been succeeded by coldness, worldliness, and error; the fact that great religious denominations, which have begun their career with zeal and love, have so soon degenerated in spirit, and fallen into the same formality and worldliness which they have evinced who have gone before them; and the case of the individual Christian, who from the most exalted state of love and joy so soon often declines into a state of conformity to the world.
These are sad views of human nature, even under the influence of true religion; but the past history of man has given but too much occasion for such reflections, and too much reason to apprehend that the same things may occur, for a time, even under the best forms in which religion may manifest itself in a fallen world. Man's nature will be better in heaven, and religion there, in its purest and best form, will be permanent; here we are not to be surprised at any outbreak of sin or any form of declension in religion. What has often occurred in the world on a small scale we may suppose may then occur on a larger scale. "Just as on a small scale, in some little community like that of Northampton, as described by President Edwards, after the remarkable sense of God's presence over the whole town had begun to wax feeble, the still unconverted persons of it, though subdued and seemingly won over to Christ, would by little and little recover themselves, and at length venture forth in their true character; so it will be, in all probability, on a vast scale, at the close of the latter day. The unconverted portion of the world - long constrained by the religious influences everywhere surrounding them to fall in with the spirit of the day, catching apparently its holy impulses, but never coming savingly under its power - this portion of mankind, which we have reason to fear will not be small, will now be freed from these irksome restraints, no longer obliged to breathe an atmosphere uncongenial to their nature" (Brown on the Seceded Coming of Christ, p. 442). "No oppression is so grievous to an unsanctified heart as that which arises from the purity of Christianity. A desire to shake off this yoke is the true cause of the opposition which Christianity has met with in the world in every period, and will, it is most likely, be the chief motive to influence the followers of Gog in his time" (Frazer's Key, p. 455).
(c) The representations of the New Testament elsewhere confirm this view in regard to the latter state of the world - the state when the Lord Jesus shall come to judgment. "When the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?" Luk 18:8. "There shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts, and saying, Where is the promise of his coming?" Pe2 3:3-4. "The day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape," Th1 5:2-3. See especially Luk 17:26-30; "As it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. They did eat, they drank, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; but the same day that Lot went out of Sodom it rained fire and brimstone from heaven, and destroyed them all. Even thus shall it be in the day wheat the Son of man is Rev_ealed."
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
20:8: to deceive: Rev 20:3, Rev 20:10
Gog: Ezek. 38:1-39:29
to gather: Rev 16:14
the number: Jdg 7:12; Sa1 13:5; Kg1 4:20; Isa 10:22; Jer 33:22; Heb 11:12
Geneva 1599
20:8 (16) And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom [is] as the sand of the sea.
(16) The work or act of Satan (which is the first part, as I distinguished in the verse before) to deceive the whole world, even to the uttermost nations of it: to arm them against the people of God, in this verse and to besiege and oppress the Church, with his whole strength, in the verse following.
John Gill
20:8 And shall go out,.... Of his prison, the bottomless pit, and shall walk to and fro in the earth, and go about like a deceitful serpent, and roaring lion, as before:
to deceive the nations: as he had done before the thousand years began, and from which he was restrained during that time; he had before deceived the Pagan, Papal, and Mahometan nations, and now he will go forth to deceive those at this time
which are in the four quarters of the earth; all the world over: the names of which nations are,
Gog and Magog: not the same which are mentioned in Ezek 38:1 though there is an allusion to them, and from thence the names are taken, and some of the figures borrowed, and design the enemies of God's people, who will be in the world at this time; so the Jews (b) speak of a Gog and Magog, that will come up against Jerusalem in the days of the Messiah, whom they still expect, by whom they shall be destroyed:
to gather them together to battle; not one against another, as some think, as the pope against the Turk, and the Turk against the pope, nor are they designed at all; nor "to kill them", as the Ethiopic version renders it; but against the saints and people of God, in the beloved city and camp; herein will lie his deception of them:
the number of whom is as the sand of the sea; that is, innumerable, in allusion to Gog and Magog in Ezek 38:9 but the great question is, who are meant by these?--Not the Papists, the nations made drunk with the wine of Rome's fornication, the Gentiles, by whom the holy city is trodden under foot, and who will be angry when the time of avenging the saints is come, Rev_ 11:2 for these will be all destroyed, even all the remains of them, at the battle of Armageddon; nor is antichrist himself intended, who will be destroyed in the spiritual reign of Christ, with the breath of his mouth; and at the above decisive battle the beast and the false prophet will be taken alive, and cast into the lake of fire: nor are the Turks designed, the people of Magog being Scythians originally, as Josephus says (c), from whence the Turks sprung; or Tartarinns, for Paulus Venetus (d) says the countries of Gog and Magog are in Tartary, called Jug and Munjug; hence some think these are the same with the four angels bound at the river Euphrates, and loosed, whose armies are represented as exceeding numerous, Rev_ 9:14 but though the Turkish dominions are very large, yet they do not extend to the four quarters of the world; and when the Turks were let loose, and came even into Europe, it was not against the true Christians, the camp of the saints, the beloved city, as here, but against the antichristian party; the Papists have suffered most by the incursions of the Turks, though it has not brought them to repentance; besides, the loosing of the four angels, or the Turkish nations, and their chiefs, is long before these thousand years begin; that is past already, under the sixth trumpet, whereas the seventh trumpet will be blown, and all the seven vials poured out, and the world cleared of all Christ's enemies, and after that a thousand years must run out, before this Gog and Magog army will appear: nor are the Americans the nations, here spoken of; for they are but in one quarter of the world; nor is there any reason to believe there will be there more enemies of Christ's people than in any other part, since in the spiritual reign of Christ the earth shall be full of his knowledge, and his spiritual kingdom will be to the ends of the earth: and as for that notion that those inhabiting the other hemisphere will be saved from the general conflagration, there is no reason to believe it, since the earth, and whatsoever is therein, shall be burnt up, 2Pet 3:10. Some think that the wicked living in the distant parts of the world, in the corners of the earth, are meant, who, upon Christ's coming, will flee thither, and remain in continual dread and terror to the end of the thousand years, when Satan will gather them together, and spirit them up against the saints; but this cannot be, because they will all be destroyed at the universal conflagration of the world; nor will there be any in the new earth but righteous persons: but these will be all the wicked dead, the rest of the dead, who lived not again until the thousand years are ended, when will be the second resurrection, the resurrection of all the wicked that have been from the beginning of the world; and these, with the posse of devils under Satan, will make up the Gog and Magog army: all the characters agree with them; these may be called nations, or Gentiles, being aliens from the true Israel of God, the dogs that will be without the holy city; these may be said to be in "the four quarters" of the world, since where they die and are buried, there they will rise and stand upon their feet, an exceeding great army; and as they will die enemies to Christ and his people, they will rise such; as they will go down to hell with their "weapons of war", as is said of Meshech and Tubal, the people of Gog, Ezek 32:27 they will rise with the same; the grave, the dust of the earth, will make no change in their vile bodies, nor the flames of hell any alteration in the disposition of their minds; yea, as is said in the above place, they will "lay their swords under their heads", and so be in a readiness, when they rise, to make use of them against the saints, and to avenge themselves; for their envy, malice, and revenge, will be heightened and increased by their confinement and punishment in hell: nor need this be wondered at, since the devils, notwithstanding they have been so long expelled the realms of light, and have been in chains of darkness, and in expectation of everlasting torment, retain the same enmity as ever; and though the deception will be very great, to attack saints in an immortal state, who are like the angels that die not, nor will these die any more, and especially since Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who rules the nations with a rod of iron, will be at the head of them; yet it need not seem strange, when they will rise as weak and feeble, and as little able to resist temptation, and as much exposed to seduction, as they were before; Satan will have as much power over them as ever; and what with their own numbers, and the posse of devils at the head of them, and especially considering the desperateness of their state, and that this is their last struggle and effort for liberty, they will animate themselves and one another to this strange undertaking. These now may be called Gog and Magog, as the one signifies "covered", the other open, or "uncovered": these being all the enemies of Christ and his people, both secret and open: and this sense well accounts for their number, being as the sand of the sea; and which the Arabic version seems to confirm, "and Jagog and Magog shall rise with him". The Jews have a notion that this deception of Satan will be at the day of judgment, which agrees with this account; for immediately upon this will follow the judgment of the wicked: they say (e),
"in the day that judgment shall be found in the world, and the holy blessed God shall sit upon the throne of Judgment, Satan , "shall deceive above and below" (angels and men), and he shall be found to destroy the world, and to take away souls.''
(b) Targum in Cant. viii. 4. & Targum Hieros. in Numb. xi. 26. (c) Antiqu. l. 1. c. 6. sect. 1. (d) In Schindler. Lex. Pentaglott. col. 288. (e) Zohar. in Gen. fol. 73. 1.
John Wesley
20:8 And shall go forth to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth - (That is, in all the earth) - the more diligently, as he hath been so long restrained, and knoweth he hath but a small time. Gog and Magog - Magog, the second son of Japhet, is the father of the innumerable northern nations toward the east. The prince of these nations, of which the bulk of that army will consist, is termed Gog by Ezekiel also, Ezek 38:2. Both Gog and Magog signify high or lifted up; a name well suiting both the prince and people. When that fierce leader of many nations shall appear, then will his own name be known. To gather them - Both Gog and his armies. Of Gog, little more is said, as being soon mingled with the rest in the common slaughter. The Revelation speaks of this the more briefly, because it had been so particularly described by Ezekiel. Whose number is as the sand of the sea - Immensely numerous: a proverbial expression.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
20:8 Gog and Magog-- (Eze. 38:1-39:29; see on Ezek 38:2). Magog is a general name for northern nations of Japheth's posterity, whose ideal head is Gog (Gen 10:2). A has but one Greek article to "Gog and Magog," whereby the two, namely, the prince and the people, are marked as having the closest connection. B reads the second article before Magog wrongly. HILLER [Onomasticon] explains both words as signifying "lofty," "elevated." For "quarters" the Greek is "corners."
to battle--Greek, "to the war," in A and B. But ANDREAS omits "the."
20:920:9: Եւ իջցէ հուր յերկնից առ ՚ի յԱստուծոյ՝ եւ կերիցէ՛ զնոսա, եւ զզօրագլուխն նոցա զՍատանայ՝ որ մոլորեցոյց զնոսա. եւ արկցէ՛ զնոսա ՚ի ծովն հրոյ եւ ծծըմբոյ ուր էր գազանն[5333]՝ [5333] Ոմանք. ՚Ի յերկնից առ յԱստուծոյ. եւ կերիցէ զնոսա. եւ արկցէ զնոսա։
9 Եւ երկնքից, Աստծու մօտից կրակ պիտի իջնի ու պիտի լափի նրանց եւ նրանց զօրագլխին՝ Սատանային, որը մոլորեցրեց նրանց. նա նրանց պիտի գցի կրակի եւ ծծմբի ծովի մէջ,
9 Երկնքէն Աստուծմէ կրակ իջաւ ու սպառեց զանոնք,
Եւ իջցէ`` հուր յերկնից առ ի յԱստուծոյ եւ [317]կերիցէ զնոսա, եւ [318]զզօրագլուխն նոցա զՍատանայ որ մոլորեցոյց զնոսա. եւ արկցէ զնոսա ի ծովն`` հրոյ եւ ծծմբոյ, ուր էր գազանն:

20:9: Եւ իջցէ հուր յերկնից առ ՚ի յԱստուծոյ՝ եւ կերիցէ՛ զնոսա, եւ զզօրագլուխն նոցա զՍատանայ՝ որ մոլորեցոյց զնոսա. եւ արկցէ՛ զնոսա ՚ի ծովն հրոյ եւ ծծըմբոյ ուր էր գազանն[5333]՝
[5333] Ոմանք. ՚Ի յերկնից առ յԱստուծոյ. եւ կերիցէ զնոսա. եւ արկցէ զնոսա։
9 Եւ երկնքից, Աստծու մօտից կրակ պիտի իջնի ու պիտի լափի նրանց եւ նրանց զօրագլխին՝ Սատանային, որը մոլորեցրեց նրանց. նա նրանց պիտի գցի կրակի եւ ծծմբի ծովի մէջ,
9 Երկնքէն Աստուծմէ կրակ իջաւ ու սպառեց զանոնք,
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20:99: И ниспал огонь с неба от Бога и пожрал их;
20:9  καὶ ἀνέβησαν ἐπὶ τὸ πλάτος τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐκύκλευσαν τὴν παρεμβολὴν τῶν ἁγίων καὶ τὴν πόλιν τὴν ἠγαπημένην. καὶ κατέβη πῦρ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ κατέφαγεν αὐτούς·
20:9. καὶ (And) ἀνέβησαν (they-had-stepped-up) ἐπὶ ( upon ) τὸ ( to-the-one ) πλάτος ( to-a-breadth ) τῆς ( of-the-one ) γῆς , ( of-a-soil ,"καὶ (and) ἐκύκλευσαν (they-circled-of) τὴν (to-the-one) παρεμβολὴν (to-a-casting-in-beside) τῶν (of-the-ones) ἁγίων ( of-hallow-belonged ) καὶ (and) τὴν (to-the-one) πόλιν (to-a-city) τὴν ( to-the-one ) ἠγαπημένην . ( to-having-had-come-to-be-excessed-off-unto ) καὶ ( And ) κατέβη ( it-had-stepped-down ," πῦρ ( a-fire ," ἐκ ( out ) τοῦ ( of-the-one ) οὐρανοῦ ( of-a-sky ," καὶ ( and ) κατέφαγεν ( it-had-devoured-down ) αὐτούς: (to-them)
20:9. et descendit ignis a Deo de caelo et devoravit eos et diabolus qui seducebat eos missus est in stagnum ignis et sulphuris ubi et bestiaAnd there cane down fire from God out of heaven and devoured them: and the devil, who seduced them, was cast into the pool of fire and brimstone, where both the beast
9. And they went up over the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down out of heaven, and devoured them.
And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them:

9: И ниспал огонь с неба от Бога и пожрал их;
20:9  καὶ ἀνέβησαν ἐπὶ τὸ πλάτος τῆς γῆς καὶ ἐκύκλευσαν τὴν παρεμβολὴν τῶν ἁγίων καὶ τὴν πόλιν τὴν ἠγαπημένην. καὶ κατέβη πῦρ ἐκ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καὶ κατέφαγεν αὐτούς·
20:9. et descendit ignis a Deo de caelo et devoravit eos et diabolus qui seducebat eos missus est in stagnum ignis et sulphuris ubi et bestia
And there cane down fire from God out of heaven and devoured them: and the devil, who seduced them, was cast into the pool of fire and brimstone, where both the beast
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А. П. Лопухин: Tолковая Библия или комментарий на все книги Св.Писания Ветхого и Нового Заветов - 1903-1914
9: Христиане должны будут составить как бы военный лагерь и в этом смысле всегда воевать и быть готовыми на брань с диаволом; но по выражению Апокалипсиса, огонь ниспадет с неба и уничтожит все боговраждебное воинство. Этот огонь будет, несомненно, послан от Бога как очевидное доказательство и выражение Бож. помощи для святых и Бож. гнева по отношению к грешникам (ср. Быт 19:24). Это падение огня с неба указывает на тот же эсхатологический момент, о котором говорит ХIX:21: (ср. 2: Сол 2:8) и который утверждает истину, что все люди пред страшным судом должны претерпеть изменение своего тела - мучительное для нечестивых, как бы предначатие вечных мучений. Для диавола, прельщавшего народы, вечные мучения наступят ранее общего суда и без суда. Его беззакония и его боговраждебность вполне очевидны, и потому суд над ним, как и над антихристом и лжепророком, излишен (XIX:21). Для диавола, как осужденного издревле, от века была назначена огненная геенна (Мф. 25:41).
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
20:9: The beloved city - Primarily, Jerusalem, typically, the Christian Church.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
20:9: And they went up on the breadth of the earth - They spread over the earth in extended columns. The image is that of an invading army that seems, in its march, to spread all over a land. The reference here is to the hosts assembled from the regions of Gog and Magog; that is, to the formidable enemies of the gospel that would be roused up at the close of the period properly called the "millennial" period - the period of the thousand years. It is not necessary to suppose that there would be "literally" armies of enemies of God summoned from lands that would be called lands of "Gog and Magog"; but all that is necessarily implied is, that there will be a state of hostility to the church of Christ which would be well illustrated by such a comparison with an invading host of barbarians. The expression "the breadth of the land" occurs in Hab 1:6, in a description. of the invasion of the Chaldeans, and means there "the whole extent of it"; that is, they would spread over the whole country.
And compassed the camp of the saints about - Besieged the camp of the saints considered as engaged in war, or as attacked by an enemy. The "camp of the saints" here seems to be supposed to be without the walls of the city; that is, the army was drawn out for defense. The fact that the foes were able to "compass this camp about," and to encircle the city at the same time, shows the greatness of the numbers of the invaders.
And the beloved city - Jerusalem - a city represented as beloved by God and by his people. The whole imagery here is derived from a supposed invasion of the land of Palestine - imagery than which nothing could be more natural to John in describing the hostility that would be aroused against the church in the latter day. But no just principle of interpretation requires us to understand this "literally." Compare Heb 12:22. Indeed, it would be absolutely "impossible" to give this chapter throughout a "literal" interpretation. What would be the "literal" interpretation of the very first verses? "I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the "key" of the bottomless pit, and "a great chain" in his hand; and he laid hold on the "dragon and bound" him." Can anyone believe that there is to be a literal "key," and a "chain," and an act of seizing a "serpent," and "binding" him? As little is it demanded that the passage before us should be taken "literally"; for if it is maintained that this should be, we may insist that the same principle of interpretation should be applied to every part of the chapter, and every part of the book.
And fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them - Consumed them - fire being represented as devouring or eating. See the notes on Rev 17:16. The meaning is, that they would be destroyed as if fire should come down from heaven, as on Sodom and Gomorrah. But it is not necessary to understand this literally, anymore than it is the portions of the chapter just referred to. What is obviously meant is, that their destruction would be sudden, certain, and entire, and that thus the last enemy of God and the church would be swept away. Nothing can be determined from this about the "means" by which this destruction will be effected; and that must be left for time to disclose. It is sufficient to know that the destruction of these last foes of God and the church will be certain and entire. This "language," as denoting the final destruction of the enemies of God, is often employed in the Scriptures. See Psa 11:6; Isa 29:6; Eze 38:22; Eze 39:6.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
20:9: went: Isa 8:7, Isa 8:8; Eze 38:9, Eze 38:16; Hab 1:6
and compassed: Kg2 6:15; Mic 2:13; Mat 16:16-18; Luk 19:43, Luk 21:20
the camp: Psa 48:1-3, Psa 74:2-4, Psa 125:1, Psa 125:2; Heb 13:13
and fire: Rev 11:5, Rev 13:13; Gen 19:24; Exo 9:23, Exo 9:24; Lev 10:2, Lev 10:3; Num 11:1, Num 16:35; Kg2 1:10-15; Psa 97:3, Psa 106:18; Isa 30:33, Isa 37:36; Eze 38:22, Eze 39:6; Luk 9:54, Luk 17:29; Th2 1:8
Geneva 1599
20:9 And they went up on the (b) breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and (17) fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
(b) As if he said, in so much that the whole face of the earth, however great it is, was filled.
(17) The wrath of God, consuming the adversaries, and overthrowing all their enterprises; (Heb 10:27). This is the second part mentioned See Rev_ 20:7, in the overthrow of Satan.
John Gill
20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth,.... Either the whole earth, in the several parts of which they will be raised; or the land of Israel, where Christ and his people will be; and so the wicked being raised, will come up from the several parts of the world, and spread themselves over the holy land; just as Gog and Magog are said to cover the land of Israel, as a cloud, Ezek 38:16 and it may be observed, that the very phrase of , "the breadth of thy land", is used of Immanuel's land, or the land of Israel, in Is 8:8
and compassed the camp of the saints about; these are the blessed and Holy Ones, who have part in the first resurrection, even all the saints; not only the martyrs under the Heathen persecutions, and the confessors of Christ under the Papacy, but all the saints from the beginning of the world; these will be all encamped together, with the tabernacle of God in the midst of them, Rev_ 21:3 and Christ their King at the head of them, Mic 2:13 the allusion is to the encampment of the children of Israel in the wilderness, about the tabernacle, which was in the midst of them, Num 2:2 &c. afterwards the city of Jerusalem itself was called a camp, and answered in all respects to the camp in the wilderness (f), to which the reference is in Heb 13:11 and which serves to illustrate the passage here, since it follows:
and the beloved city: not Constantinople, as some have thought, but the holy city, the new Jerusalem, Rev_ 21:2 the general assembly and church of the firstborn, beloved by God and Christ, and by the holy angels, and by one another; and these very probably will be with Christ upon the same spot of ground where the Old Jerusalem stood, a city so highly favoured, and so much distinguished by God; so that where Christ suffered so much reproach and shame, and such an accursed death, he will now be glorified, and live in triumph with his saints:
and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them; not material fire; with this the earth, and the bodies of the wicked then upon it, will be burnt at the beginning of the thousand years; but now their bodies will be raised immortal, and not capable of being consumed with such fire; but the fiery indignation of God, or his wrath, which will be poured out like fire, is here meant, which will destroy both body and soul; this is no other than the lake of fire, or second death, into which they will be cast; and which will not be until the judgment is over, though it is here related to show what will be the event and issue of their attack upon the saints: the allusion is to the fire sent upon Gog and Magog, and to the burning of their weapons, in Ezek 38:22 and so the Jews (g) say of their Gog and Magog, that
"they shall be killed with the burning of the soul, with a flame of fire, which shall come from under the throne of glory.''
(f) T. Bab Zebachim, fol. 116. 2. Maimon. Hilch. Beth Habbechirah, c. 7. sect. 11. (g) Targum Jon. in Numb. xi. 26.
John Wesley
20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, or the land - Filling the whole breadth of it. And surrounded the camp of the saints - Perhaps the gentile church, dwelling round about Jerusalem. And the beloved city - So termed, likewise, Ecclesiasticus 24:11.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
20:9 on the breadth of the earth--so as completely to overspread it. Perhaps we ought to translate, ". . . of the [holy] land."
the camp of the saints and the beloved city--the camp of the saints encircling the beloved city, Jerusalem (Ecclesiasticus 24:11). Contrast "hateful" in Babylon (Rev_ 18:2; Deut 32:15, Septuagint). Ezekiel's prophecy of Gog and Magog (Eze. 38:1-39:29) refers to the attack made by Antichrist on Israel before the millennium: but this attack is made after the millennium, so that "Gog and Magog" are mystical names representing the final adversaries led by Satan in person. Ezekiel's Gog and Magog come from the north, but those here come "from the four corners of the earth." Gog is by some connected with a Hebrew root, "covered."
from God--so B, Vulgate, Syriac, Coptic, and ANDREAS. But A omits the words. Even during the millennium there is a separation between heaven and earth, transfigured humanity and humanity in the flesh. Hence it is possible that an apostasy should take place at its close. In the judgment on this apostasy the world of nature is destroyed and renewed, as the world of history was before the millennial kingdom; it is only then that the new heaven and new earth are realized in final perfection. The millennial new heaven and earth are but a foretaste of this everlasting state when the upper and lower congregations shall be no longer separate, though connected as in the millennium, and when new Jerusalem shall descend from God out of heaven. The inherited sinfulness of our nature shall be the only influence during the millennium to prevent the power of the transfigured Church saving all souls. When this time of grace shall end, no other shall succeed. For what can move him in whom the visible glory of the Church, while the influence of evil is restrained, evokes no longing for communion with the Church's King? As the history of the world of nations ended with the manifestation of the Church in visible glory, so that of mankind in general shall end with the great separation of the just from the wicked (Rev_ 20:12) [AUBERLEN].
20:1020:10: եւ սուտ մարգարէն. եւ չարչարեսցին զտիւ եւ զգիշեր:
10 ուր գտնւում էին գազանը եւ սուտ մարգարէն. եւ նրանք պիտի չարչարուեն զօր ու գիշեր:
10 իսկ Բանսարկուն, որ զանոնք մոլորեցուց, ձգուեցաւ կրակի ու ծծումբի լիճին մէջ, ուր էին գազանըԵւ սուտ մարգարէն։ Հոն պիտի չարչարուին ցորեկ ու գիշեր՝ յաւիտեանս յաւիտենից։
եւ սուտ մարգարէն. եւ չարչարեսցին զտիւ եւ զգիշեր[319]:

20:10: եւ սուտ մարգարէն. եւ չարչարեսցին զտիւ եւ զգիշեր:
10 ուր գտնւում էին գազանը եւ սուտ մարգարէն. եւ նրանք պիտի չարչարուեն զօր ու գիշեր:
10 իսկ Բանսարկուն, որ զանոնք մոլորեցուց, ձգուեցաւ կրակի ու ծծումբի լիճին մէջ, ուր էին գազանը
Եւ սուտ մարգարէն։ Հոն պիտի չարչարուին ցորեկ ու գիշեր՝ յաւիտեանս յաւիտենից։
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
20:1010: а диавол, прельщавший их, ввержен в озеро огненное и серное, где зверь и лжепророк, и будут мучиться день и ночь во веки веков.
20:10  καὶ ὁ διάβολος ὁ πλανῶν αὐτοὺς ἐβλήθη εἰς τὴν λίμνην τοῦ πυρὸς καὶ θείου, ὅπου καὶ τὸ θηρίον καὶ ὁ ψευδοπροφήτης, καὶ βασανισθήσονται ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτὸς εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων.
20:10. καὶ (And) ὁ (the-one) διάβολος (casted-through) ὁ (the-one) πλανῶν (wandering-unto) αὐτοὺς (to-them) ἐβλήθη (it-was-casted) εἰς (into) τὴν (to-the-one) λίμνην (to-a-lake) τοῦ (of-the-one) πυρὸς ( of-a-fire ) καὶ ( and ) θείου , ( of-a-sulphur ,"ὅπου (to-which-of-whither) καὶ (and) τὸ (the-one) θηρίον (a-beastlet) καὶ (and) ὁ (the-one) ψευδοπροφήτης, (a-false-declarer-before,"καὶ (and) βασανισθήσονται (they-shall-be-abraded-to) ἡμέρας (of-a-day) καὶ (and) νυκτὸς (of-a-night) εἰς (into) τοὺς (to-the-ones) αἰῶνας (to-ages) τῶν (of-the-ones) αἰώνων. (of-ages)
20:10. et pseudoprophetes et cruciabuntur die ac nocte in saecula saeculorumAnd the false prophet shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
10. And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where are also the beast and the false prophet; and they shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet [are], and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever:

10: а диавол, прельщавший их, ввержен в озеро огненное и серное, где зверь и лжепророк, и будут мучиться день и ночь во веки веков.
20:10  καὶ ὁ διάβολος ὁ πλανῶν αὐτοὺς ἐβλήθη εἰς τὴν λίμνην τοῦ πυρὸς καὶ θείου, ὅπου καὶ τὸ θηρίον καὶ ὁ ψευδοπροφήτης, καὶ βασανισθήσονται ἡμέρας καὶ νυκτὸς εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας τῶν αἰώνων.
20:10. et pseudoprophetes et cruciabuntur die ac nocte in saecula saeculorum
And the false prophet shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
ru▾ el▾ el-en-gloss▾ vulgate▾ erva_1895▾
jfb▾ jw▾ jg▾ gnv▾ tr▾ ab▾ ac▾ all ▾
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
20:10: And the devil - was cast onto the lake - Before Satan was bound, that is, his power was curtailed and restrained; now, he is cast into the lake of fire, his power being totally taken away.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
20:10: And the devil that deceived them - See the notes on Rev 20:3, Rev 20:8.
Was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone - In Rev 19:20, it is said of the beast and the false prophet that they were "cast alive into a lake of fire, burning with brimstone." Satan, on the other hand, instead of being doomed at once to that final ruin, was confined for a season in a dark abyss, Rev 20:1-3. As the final punishment, however, he is appropriately represented as consigned to the same doom as the beast and the false prophet, that those great enemies of God, that had been associated and combined in deceiving the nations, might share the same appropriate punishment in the end. Compare Rev 16:13-14.
Where the beast and the false prophet are - See the notes on Rev 19:20.
And shall be tormented day and night foRev_er - Compare the notes on Rev 14:11. All the great enemies of the church are destroyed, and henceforward there is to be no array of hostile forces; no combination of malignant powers against the kingdom of God. The gospel triumphs; the way is prepared for the final consummation.
Section d. - Condition of things in the period referred to in Rev 20:9-10;
(1) There will be, after the release of Satan, and of course at the close of the millennial period properly so called, a state of things which may be well represented by the invasion of a country by hostile, formidable forces. This, as shown in the exposition, need not be supposed to be literal; but it is implied that there will be decided hostility against the true religion. It may be an organization and consolidation, so to speak, of infidel principles, or a decided worldly spirit, or some pRev_alent form of error, or some new form of depravity that shall be developed by the circumstances of that age. What it will be it is impossible now to determine; but, as shown above (section c, (4)), it is by no means improbable that this will occur even at the close of the millennium.
(2) there will be a decided defeat of these forces thus combined, "as if" fire should come down from heaven to destroy an invading army. The "mode" in which this will be done is not indeed stated, for there is no necessity of understanding the statement in Rev 20:9 "literally," anymore than the other parts of the chapter. The fair inference, however, is that it will be by a manifest divine agency; that it will be sudden, and that the destruction will be entire. We have no reason, therefore, to suppose that the outbreak will be of long continuance, or that it will very materially disturb the settled order of human affairs on the earth - anymore than a formidable invasion of a country does, when the invading army is suddenly cut off by some terrible judgment from heaven.
(3) this overthrow of the enemies of God and of the church will be "final." Satan will be "cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, to be tormented day and night foRev_er." The beast and the false prophet are already there Rev 19:20; that is, they will have ceased long since, even before the beginning of the millennial period (Rev 19:20, compared with Rev 20:1-3), to have opposed the progress of truth in the world, and their power will have been brought to an end. Satan now, the last enemy, will be doomed to the same hopeless woe; and all the enemies that have ever opposed the church - in all forms of paganism, Mohammedanism, Popery, and delusion - will be destroyed foRev_er. The world then will have peace; the church will have rest; the great triumph will have been achieved.
(4) for reasons stated in the analysis of the chapter, 5. (c), it is possible that there will be a long period of continued prosperity and peace between the events stated in Rev 20:9-10, and the final judgment, as described in Rev 20:11-15. If so, however, the purpose of the book did not require that that should be described at length, and it must be admitted that the most "obvious" interpretation of the New Testament would not be favorable to such a supposition. Compare Luk 17:26-30; Luk 18:8; Th1 5:2, Th1 5:3; Pe2 3:3-4. The great glory of the world will be the millennial period; when religion shall have the ascendency and the race shall have reached its highest point of progress on earth, and the blessings of liberty, intelligence, peace, and piety, shall have during that period been spread over the globe. In that long duration, who can estimate the numbers that shah be redeemed and saved? That period passed, the great purpose contemplated by the creation of the earth - the glory of God in the redemption of a fallen race, and in setting up a kingdom of righteousness in a world of apostasy - will have been accomplished, and there will be no reason why the final judgment should not then occur. "The work of redemption will now be finished. The end for which the means of grace have been instituted shall be obtained. All the effect which was intended to be accomplished by them shall now be accomplished. All the great wheels of Providence have gone round all things are ripe for Christ's coming to judgment" (President Edwards' History of Redemption).
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
20:10: the devil: Rev 20:2, Rev 20:3, Rev 20:8
the lake: Rev 20:14, Rev 20:15, Rev 19:20
tormented: Rev 14:10; Mat 25:41, Mat 25:46
Geneva 1599
20:10 (18) And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet [are], and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
(18) The third part, eternal destruction against those that are overcome: as I noted in the same place.
John Gill
20:10 And the devil that deceived them,.... Both before death, in the present life, by tempting and drawing them into immorality and profaneness, or idolatry, superstition, and will worship, or persecution of the saints; and after their resurrection, by instigating them to make this foolish attempt upon the saints of the most High:
was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone; the same with the everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels; this will be his full torment, in which he is not as yet; and this will not be until the judgment is finished hereafter described; though it is here mentioned to issue the account of Satan at once, and to show what will be his final state and condition:
where the beast and false prophet are; Rev_ 19:20 who for so many years have been companions in wickedness together; the beast being the first beast that received his power, seat, and authority from the dragon, or devil; the false prophet being the second beast, or antichrist in his ecclesiastical capacity, as the beast is antichrist in his civil power, whose coming is after the working of Satan, with signs and lying wonders:
and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever; that is, not only the devil, but the beast and false prophet, for the word is in the plural number: and this will be the case of all wicked men, of all whose minds are enmity to God and Christ, and to his people; and is a proof of the eternity of hell torments.
John Wesley
20:10 And they - All these. Shall be tormented day and night - That is, without any intermission. Strictly speaking, there is only night there: no day, no sun, no hope!
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
20:10 that deceived--Greek, "that deceiveth."
lake of fire--his final doom: as "the bottomless pit" (Rev_ 20:1) was his temporary prison.
where--so Coptic. But A, B, Vulgate, and Syriac read, "where also."
the beast and the false prophet are-- (Rev_ 19:20).
day and night--figurative for without intermission (Rev_ 22:5), such as now is caused by night interposing between day and day. The same phrase is used of the external state of the blessed (Rev_ 4:8). As the bliss of these is eternal, so the woe of Satan and the lost must be. As the beast and the false prophet led the former conspiracy against Christ and His people, so Satan in person heads the last conspiracy. Satan shall not be permitted to enter this Paradise regained, to show the perfect security of believers, unlike the first Adam whom Satan succeeded in robbing of Paradise; and shall, like Pharaoh at the Rod Sea, receive in this last attempt his final doom.
for ever and ever--Greek, "to the ages of the ages."
20:1120:11: Եւ տեսի աթոռ սպիտա՛կ մեծ, եւ ՚ի վերայ նորա նստեալ՝ յորոյ երեսացն երկնչէին եւ փախչէին երկինք եւ երկիր, եւ տեղի ո՛չ գտաւ նոցա:
11 Տեսայ նաեւ մի մեծ, սպիտակ գահ եւ նրան, ով նստել էր դրա վրայ. նրա ներկայութիւնից երկինք ու երկիր երկիւղ կրեցին ու փախան. եւ նրանց համար տեղ չգտնուեց:
11 Մեծ ճերմակ աթոռ մը տեսայ, որուն վրայ մէկը նստած էր։ Անոր երեսէն երկիր ու երկինք փախան եւ տեղ չգտնուեցաւ անոնց։
Եւ տեսի աթոռ սպիտակ մեծ, եւ ի վերայ նորա նստեալ` յորոյ երեսացն երկնչէին եւ փախչէին երկինք եւ երկիր, եւ տեղի ոչ գտաւ նոցա:

20:11: Եւ տեսի աթոռ սպիտա՛կ մեծ, եւ ՚ի վերայ նորա նստեալ՝ յորոյ երեսացն երկնչէին եւ փախչէին երկինք եւ երկիր, եւ տեղի ո՛չ գտաւ նոցա:
11 Տեսայ նաեւ մի մեծ, սպիտակ գահ եւ նրան, ով նստել էր դրա վրայ. նրա ներկայութիւնից երկինք ու երկիր երկիւղ կրեցին ու փախան. եւ նրանց համար տեղ չգտնուեց:
11 Մեծ ճերմակ աթոռ մը տեսայ, որուն վրայ մէկը նստած էր։ Անոր երեսէն երկիր ու երկինք փախան եւ տեղ չգտնուեցաւ անոնց։
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
20:1111: И увидел я великий белый престол и Сидящего на нем, от лица Которого бежало небо и земля, и не нашлось им места.
20:11  καὶ εἶδον θρόνον μέγαν λευκὸν καὶ τὸν καθήμενον ἐπ᾽ αὐτόν, οὖ ἀπὸ τοῦ προσώπου ἔφυγεν ἡ γῆ καὶ ὁ οὐρανός, καὶ τόπος οὐχ εὑρέθη αὐτοῖς.
20:11. Καὶ ( And ) εἶδον ( I-had-seen ) θρόνον ( to-a-throne ) μέγαν (to-great) λευκὸν (to-white) καὶ (and) τὸν (to-the-one) καθήμενον ( to-sitting-down ) ἐπ' (upon) αὐτοῦ, (of-it,"οὗ (of-which) ἀπὸ ( off ) τοῦ ( of-the-one ) προσώπου ( of-looked-toward ) ἔφυγεν ( it-had-fled ," ἡ ( the-one ) γῆ ( a-soil ) καὶ (and) ὁ (the-one) οὐρανός, (a-sky,"καὶ (and) τόπος ( an-occasion ) οὐχ ( not ) εὑρέθη ( it-was-found ) αὐτοῖς . ( unto-them )
20:11. et vidi thronum magnum candidum et sedentem super eum a cuius aspectu fugit terra et caelum et locus non est inventus ab eisAnd I saw a great white throne and one sitting upon it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away: and there was no place found for them
11. And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat upon it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them:

11: И увидел я великий белый престол и Сидящего на нем, от лица Которого бежало небо и земля, и не нашлось им места.
20:11  καὶ εἶδον θρόνον μέγαν λευκὸν καὶ τὸν καθήμενον ἐπ᾽ αὐτόν, οὖ ἀπὸ τοῦ προσώπου ἔφυγεν ἡ γῆ καὶ ὁ οὐρανός, καὶ τόπος οὐχ εὑρέθη αὐτοῖς.
20:11. et vidi thronum magnum candidum et sedentem super eum a cuius aspectu fugit terra et caelum et locus non est inventus ab eis
And I saw a great white throne and one sitting upon it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away: and there was no place found for them
ru▾ el▾ el-en-gloss▾ vulgate▾ erva_1895▾
jfb▾ jw▾ jg▾ gnv▾ tr▾ ab▾ ac▾ mh▾ tb▾ all ▾
А. П. Лопухин: Tолковая Библия или комментарий на все книги Св.Писания Ветхого и Нового Заветов - 1903-1914
11: Доведя до конца изображение судьбы антихриста, лжепророка и самого диавола, преданным вечным мучениям, откровение обращается к изображению суда над человеческим миром (11-15: ст.), а после этого рисует картину будущего обновленного мира, на котором будет жить новое обновлённое человечество. Иоанн видит великий престол, который назван белым для указания на святость и неподкупность сидящего на нём Судии (ср. Мф. 26:31; Дан 7:9). Сидящий на престоле несомненно Сам Иисус Христос, Который говорил о Себе, что Отец весь суд отдал Сыну (Ин 5:22). Пред Ним как всемогущим Господом и Владыкою лежало небо и земля. Небо и земля исчезнут, когда наступит конечный мировой переворот, после которого должна начаться новая жизнь обновленного мира. Обновление мира и обновление твари должно произойти одновременно с обновлением человека, с изменением оставшихся в живых и с воскресением умерших. И только после переворота, среди новой обстановки, все люди предстанут пред престолом Судии.
Matthew Henry: Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible - 1706
The Universal Judgment.A. D. 95.
11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

The utter destruction of the devil's kingdom very properly leads to an account of the day of judgment, which will determine every man's everlasting state; and we may be assured there will be a judgment when we see the prince of this world is judged, John xvi. 11. This will be a great day, the great day, when all shall appear before the judgment-seat of Christ. The Lord help us firmly to believe this doctrine of the judgment to come. It is a doctrine that made Felix tremble. Here we have a description of it, where observe, 1. We behold the throne, and tribunal of judgment, great and white, very glorious and perfectly just and righteous. The throne of iniquity, that establishes wickedness by a law, has no fellowship with this righteous throne and tribunal. 2. The appearance of the Judge, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ, who then puts on such majesty and terror that the earth and the heaven flee from his face, and there is no place found for them; there is a dissolution of the whole frame of nature, 2 Pet. iii. 10. 3. The persons to be judged (v. 12): The dead, small and great; that is, young and old, low and high, poor and rich. None are so mean but they have some talents to account for, and none so great as to avoid the jurisdiction of this court; not only those that are found alive at the coming of Christ, but all who have died before; the grave shall surrender the bodies of men, hell shall surrender the souls of the wicked, the sea shall surrender the many who seemed to have been lost in it. 4. The rule of judgment settled: The books were opened. What books? The books of God's omniscience, who is greater than our consciences, and knows all things (there is a book of remembrance with him both for good and bad); and the book of the sinner's conscience, which, though formerly secret, will now be opened. And another book shall be opened--the book of the scriptures, the statute-book of heaven, the rule of life. This book is opened as containing the law, the touchstone by which the hearts and lives of men are to be tried. This book determines matter of right; the other books give evidence of matters of fact. Some, by the other book, called the book of life, understand the book of God's eternal counsels; but that does not seem to belong to the affair of judgment: in eternal election God does not act judicially, but with absolute sovereign freedom. 5. The cause to be tried; and that is, the works of men, what they have done and whether it be good or evil. By their works men shall be justified or condemned; for though God knows their state and their principles, and looks chiefly at these, yet, being to approve himself to angels and men as a righteous God, he will try their principles by their practices, and so will be justified when he speaks and clear when he judges. 6. The issue of the trial and judgment; and this will be according to the evidence of fact, and rule of judgment. All those who have made a covenant with death, and an agreement with hell, shall then be condemned with their infernal confederates, cast with them into the lake of fire, as not being entitled to eternal life, according to the rules of life laid down in the scripture; but those whose names are written in that book (that is, those that are justified and acquitted by the gospel) shall then be justified and acquitted by the Judge, and shall enter into eternal life, having nothing more to fear from death, or hell, or wicked men; for these are all destroyed together. Let it be our great concern to see on what terms we stand with our Bibles, whether they justify us or condemn us now; for the Judge of all will proceed by that rule. Christ shall judge the secrets of all men according to the gospel. Happy are those who have so ordered and stated their cause according to the gospel as to know beforehand that they shall be justified in the great day of the Lord!
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
20:11: A great white throne - Refulgent with glorious majesty.
Him that sat on it - The indescribable Jehovah.
From whose face the earth and the heaven fled away - Even the brightness of his countenance dissolved the universe, and annihilated the laws by which it was governed. This is a very majestic figure, and finely expressed.
There was found no place for them - The glorious majesty of God filling all things, and being all in all.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
20:11: And I saw a great white throne - This verse commences the description of the final judgment, which embraces the remainder of the chapter. The first thing seen in the vision is the burning throne of the Judge. The things that are specified in regard to it are, that it was "great," and that it was "white." The former expression means that it was high or elevated. Compare Isa 6:1. The latter expression - white - means that it was "splendid or shining." Compare Kg1 10:18-20. The throne here is the same which is referred to in Mat 25:31, and called there "the throne of his glory."
And him that sat on it - The reference here undoubtedly is to the Lord Jesus Christ, the final Judge of mankind (compare Mat 25:31), and the scene described is what will occur at his second advent.
From whose face - Or, from whose presence; though the word may be used here to denote more strictly his face - as illuminated, and shining like the sun. See Rev 1:16, "And his countenance was as the sun shineth in his strength."
The earth and the heaven fled away - That is, as the stars, at the rising of the sun, seem to flee to more remote regions, and vanish from human view, so when the Son of God shall descend in his glory to judge the world, the earth and all other worlds shall seem to vanish. Every one must admire the sublimity of this image; no one can contemplate it without being awed by the majesty and glory of the final Judge of mankind. Similar expressions, where the natural creation shrinks back with awe at the presence of God, frequently occur in the Bible. Compare Psa 18:7-15; Psa 77:16-19; Psa 114:3-5; Hab 3:6, Hab 3:10-11.
And there was found no place for them - They seemed to flee "entirely away," as if there was "no" place where they could find a safe retreat, or which would receive and shelter them in their flight. The image expresses, in the most emphatic manner, the idea that they entirely disappeared, and no language could more sublimely represent the majesty of the Judge.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
20:11: I saw: Rev 20:2, Rev 19:11; Gen 18:25; Psa 9:7, Psa 9:8, Psa 14:6, Psa 14:7, Psa 47:8, Psa 89:14, Psa 97:2; Mat 25:31; Act 17:30, Act 17:31; Rom 2:5
from: Rev 6:14, Rev 16:20, Rev 21:1; Jer 4:23-26; Dan 2:35; Mat 24:35; Pe2 3:7, Pe2 3:10-12
and there: Rev 12:8; Job 9:6
Geneva 1599
20:11 (19) And I saw a great (20) white throne, and him that sat on it, (21) from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
(19) The second part of this chapter, in which the judge is described in this verse, and the last judgment in the verse following.
(20) That is, a tribunal seat most princelike and glorious: for so does the Greek word signify.
(21) That is, Christ, before whom when he comes to judgment, heaven and earth shall perish for the greatness of his majesty; (2Pet 3:7, 2Pet 3:10).
John Gill
20:11 And I saw a great white throne,.... This vision refers not to the Gospel dispensation, from the exaltation of Christ to his second coming; when he sat down on his throne at the right hand of God, and was declared Lord and Christ; when there was a shaking of the heavens and the earth, a removing of the Mosaic economy, and the ordinances of the ceremonial law in Judea, and of Paganism in the Gentile world; when the Gospel was preached to all nations, and the dead in sins were quickened, and arose and stood before the throne of grace; when the books of the Scriptures were opened and explained, and the book of life was also opened; and by the conversion of some, and not others, it was known who were written in it and who were not, and men were judged to be alive or dead in a spiritual sense, according to the influence the opening of these books had upon them; and the powers of the world, comparable to a sea, and of death and hell, were not able to hold in the dead in sin, when they were called to life, with respect to whom death and hell were destroyed; nor was the Gospel the savour of death to any but to such who were not written in the book of life. This, in other words, is the sum of Cocceius's sense of this vision; but this affair will be over, and all God's elect gathered in by the preaching of the Gospel, before this vision takes place: nor does it respect the restoration of the Jews, who now are as dead, like Ezekiel's dry bones, but will at this time be quickened, and stand upon their feet an exceeding great army, and will be gathered from the several parts where they are as dead; and when it will be known by their conduct and behaviour who are God's elect among them, and who are not; which is Brightman's interpretation of the vision: but this, as we have seen, will come to pass according to the vision in the preceding chapter, before the thousand years begin; whereas this vision will not begin to be accomplished until they are ended: it is best therefore to understand it of the general judgment at the last day, which is the common sense of ancient and modern interpreters; though it seems only to regard the judgment of the wicked, for no other are made mention of in it: the "throne" here seen is a throne of judgment; it is called a "great" one, because a great Person sat upon it, the Word of God, the King of kings and Lord of lords, even he who is the great God, and Judge of the whole earth; and because of the great work that will be transacted upon it, the judgment of all the wicked; this will be the greatest assize that ever was held; it is called the judgment of the great day, and the great and dreadful day of the Lord, Jude 1:6, Mal 4:5 this throne is also said to be a "white" one; just as the same Person is said to sit upon a white cloud, and ride upon a white horse, Rev_ 14:14 it may be in allusion either to a white and serene cloud, or to a throne of ivory, such an one as Solomon made, 2Chron 9:17 and this is either expressive of the majesty and splendour of it, it being a throne of glory, or a glorious throne, Mt 25:31 or else it may denote the purity and justice of him that sits on it, according to which he will proceed in judgment, and finish it; his character is the righteous judge, and the judgment he will execute will be righteous judgment:
and him that sat on it; the throne was not empty, one sat upon it, who is no other than the Son of God; to whom all judgment is committed, and who is ordained to be Judge of quick and dead; and is every way fit for it, being of great knowledge, wisdom, and sagacity, and of great integrity and faithfulness, as man and Mediator, and being, as God, both omniscient and omnipotent, and so capable both of passing a right sentence, and of executing it; to which may be added, his great majesty and glory, necessary to strike an awe, and command an attention to him:
from whose face the earth and the heavens fled away, and there was found no place for them; which is to be understood not figuratively, as in Rev_ 6:14 where in the one place is described the destruction of Paganism, and in the other the destruction of the Papacy, and all antichristian powers; but literally, and not of the present earth and heaven, as they now are, for these will be burnt up with fire at the beginning of the thousand years, but of the new heaven and new earth, at the end of them; and the phrases of fleeing away, and place being found no more for them, show the entire annihilation and utter abolition of them; after this there will be no place in being but the heaven of angels and saints, and the lake of fire, in which are the devils and damned spirits: but though this is mentioned here, it will not be till after the judgment is over; for how otherwise will the dead have a place to stand in before the throne, or hell, that is the grave, and also the sea, give up their dead, Rev_ 20:12 but it is observed here, though afterwards done, to set off the majesty of the Judge upon the throne, at whose sight, and by whose power, this will be effected.
John Wesley
20:11 And I saw - A representation of that great day of the Lord. A great white throne - How great, who can say? White with the glory of God, of him that sat upon it, - Jesus Christ. The apostle does not attempt to describe him here; only adds that circumstance, far above all description, From whose face the earth and the heaven fled away - Probably both the aerial and the starry heaven; which "shall pass away with a great noise." And there was found no place for them - But they were wholly dissolved, the very "elements melting with fervent heat." It is not said, they were thrown into great commotions, but they fled entirely away; not, they started from their foundations, but they " fell into dissolution;" not, they removed to a distant place, but there was found no place for them; they ceased to exist; they were no more. And all this, not at the strict command of the Lord Jesus; not at his awful presence, or before his fiery indignation; but at the bare presence of his Majesty, sitting with severe but adorable dignity on his throne.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
20:11 great--in contrast to the "thrones," Rev_ 20:4.
white--the emblem of purity and justice.
him that sat on it--the Father [ALFORD]. Rather, the Son, to whom "the Father hath committed all judgment." God in Christ, that is, the Father represented by the Son, is He before whose judgment-seat we must all stand. The Son's mediatorial reign is with a view to prepare the kingdom for the Father's acceptance. When He has done that, He shall give it up to the Father, "that God may be all in all," coming into direct communion with His creatures, without intervention of a Mediator, for the first time since the fall. Heretofore Christ's Prophetical mediation had been prominent in His earthly ministry, His Priestly mediation is prominent now in heaven between His first and second advents, and His Kingly shall be so during the millennium and at the general judgment.
earth and heaven fled away--The final conflagration, therefore, precedes the general judgment. This is followed by the new heaven and earth (Rev. 21:1-27).
20:1220:12: Եւ տեսի զմեռեալս մեծամեծս եւ զփոքունս որ կային առաջի աթոռոյն. եւ գրեանք բանային. եւ ա՛յլ գիրք բացաւ կենաց, եւ դատեցան մեռեալք ՚ի գրելոցն՝ ըստ գործոց իւրեանց[5334]: [5334] Ոմանք. Զմեծամեծս եւ։
12 Եւ տեսայ մեռելներ, մեծ ու փոքր, որոնք կանգնել էին գահի առաջ. եւ բաց արուեցին գրքեր. բացուեց նաեւ մի այլ գիրք՝ կեանքի գիրքը: Եւ մեռելները դատուեցին ըստ գրուածքների՝ իրենց գործերի համաձայն:
12 Տեսայ պզտիկ ու մեծ մեռելներ որոնք Աստուծոյ* առջեւ կայնած էին։ Գրքերը բացուեցան եւ ուրիշ գիրք մըն ալ բացուեցաւ, այսինքն կեանքի գիրքը եւ գրքերուն մէջ գրուած մեռելները դատուեցան իրենց գործերուն համեմատ։
Եւ տեսի զմեռեալս մեծամեծս եւ զփոքունս, որ կային առաջի [320]աթոռոյն. եւ գրեանք բանային, եւ այլ գիրք բացան կենաց. եւ դատեցան մեռեալք [321]ի գրելոցն ըստ գործոց իւրեանց:

20:12: Եւ տեսի զմեռեալս մեծամեծս եւ զփոքունս որ կային առաջի աթոռոյն. եւ գրեանք բանային. եւ ա՛յլ գիրք բացաւ կենաց, եւ դատեցան մեռեալք ՚ի գրելոցն՝ ըստ գործոց իւրեանց[5334]:
[5334] Ոմանք. Զմեծամեծս եւ։
12 Եւ տեսայ մեռելներ, մեծ ու փոքր, որոնք կանգնել էին գահի առաջ. եւ բաց արուեցին գրքեր. բացուեց նաեւ մի այլ գիրք՝ կեանքի գիրքը: Եւ մեռելները դատուեցին ըստ գրուածքների՝ իրենց գործերի համաձայն:
12 Տեսայ պզտիկ ու մեծ մեռելներ որոնք Աստուծոյ* առջեւ կայնած էին։ Գրքերը բացուեցան եւ ուրիշ գիրք մըն ալ բացուեցաւ, այսինքն կեանքի գիրքը եւ գրքերուն մէջ գրուած մեռելները դատուեցան իրենց գործերուն համեմատ։
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
20:1212: И увидел я мертвых, малых и великих, стоящих пред Богом, и книги раскрыты были, и иная книга раскрыта, которая есть книга жизни; и судимы были мертвые по написанному в книгах, сообразно с делами своими.
20:12  καὶ εἶδον τοὺς νεκρούς, τοὺς μεγάλους καὶ τοὺς μικρούς, ἑστῶτας ἐνώπιον τοῦ θρόνου, καὶ βιβλία ἠνοίχθησαν· καὶ ἄλλο βιβλίον ἠνοίχθη, ὅ ἐστιν τῆς ζωῆς· καὶ ἐκρίθησαν οἱ νεκροὶ ἐκ τῶν γεγραμμένων ἐν τοῖς βιβλίοις κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτῶν.
20:12. καὶ (And) εἶδον (I-had-seen) τοὺς (to-the-ones) νεκρούς , ( to-en-deaded ,"τοὺς (to-the-ones) μεγάλους ( to-great ) καὶ (and) τοὺς (to-the-ones) μικρούς , ( to-small ," ἑστῶτας ( to-having-had-come-to-stand ) ἐνώπιον (in-looked) τοῦ (of-the-one) θρόνου, (of-a-throne," καὶ ( and ) βιβλία ( paperlets ) ἠνοίχθησαν : ( they-were-opened-up ) καὶ (and) ἄλλο (other) βιβλίον ( a-paperlet ) ἠνοίχθη, (it-was-opened-up,"ὅ (which) ἐστιν (it-be) τῆς ( of-the-one ) ζωῆς : ( of-a-lifing ) καὶ (and) ἐκρίθησαν (they-were-separated) οἱ (the-ones) νεκροὶ ( en-deaded ) ἐκ (out) τῶν (of-the-ones) γεγραμμένων ( of-having-had-come-to-be-scribed ) ἐν (in) τοῖς (unto-the-ones) βιβλίοις (unto-paperlets) κατὰ ( down ) τὰ ( to-the-ones ) ἔργα ( to-works ) αὐτῶν . ( of-them )
20:12. et vidi mortuos magnos et pusillos stantes in conspectu throni et libri aperti sunt et alius liber apertus est qui est vitae et iudicati sunt mortui ex his quae scripta erant in libris secundum opera ipsorumAnd I saw the dead, great and small, standing in the presence of the throne. And the books were opened: and another book was opened, which was the book of life. And the dead were judged by those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
12. And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne; and books were opened: and another book was opened, which is of life: and the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works.
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is [the book] of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works:

12: И увидел я мертвых, малых и великих, стоящих пред Богом, и книги раскрыты были, и иная книга раскрыта, которая есть книга жизни; и судимы были мертвые по написанному в книгах, сообразно с делами своими.
20:12  καὶ εἶδον τοὺς νεκρούς, τοὺς μεγάλους καὶ τοὺς μικρούς, ἑστῶτας ἐνώπιον τοῦ θρόνου, καὶ βιβλία ἠνοίχθησαν· καὶ ἄλλο βιβλίον ἠνοίχθη, ὅ ἐστιν τῆς ζωῆς· καὶ ἐκρίθησαν οἱ νεκροὶ ἐκ τῶν γεγραμμένων ἐν τοῖς βιβλίοις κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτῶν.
20:12. et vidi mortuos magnos et pusillos stantes in conspectu throni et libri aperti sunt et alius liber apertus est qui est vitae et iudicati sunt mortui ex his quae scripta erant in libris secundum opera ipsorum
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing in the presence of the throne. And the books were opened: and another book was opened, which was the book of life. And the dead were judged by those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
ru▾ el▾ el-en-gloss▾ vulgate▾ erva_1895▾
jfb▾ jw▾ jg▾ gnv▾ tr▾ ab▾ ac▾ tb▾ all ▾
А. П. Лопухин: Tолковая Библия или комментарий на все книги Св.Писания Ветхого и Нового Заветов - 1903-1914
12: Иоанн называет их мертвыми, но, очевидно, вместо "умершими": они воскрешены действием всемогущества Божия и призваны для суда и отчета во всей своей земной жизни. Здесь обходятся молчанием те, которые останутся живыми до суда (1Кор.15:52-53). Но это молчание не есть отрицание факта суда и над оставшимися в живых [Ср. Августин 10:15]. Всеобщий суд - а здесь речь несомненно идет о нем - будет судом над всеми людьми без исключения, как дожившими до второго пришествия Господа, так и умершими к этому времени, как праведными, так и грешными (Мф. 25:31; 2Кор. 5:10). Все люди без исключения должны предстать пред престолом Судии: и великие и малые, без всякого различия по их бывшему положению среди земного общества. Апокалипсис самый суд изображает под видом судебного разбирательства: будут раскрыты книги и книга жизни. Понимать этот символический образ нужно так, что по действию всемогущества Божия на суде раскроется совесть каждого человека, и он в ней, как бы в книге, сам прочтет все, что было сделано им в жизни, и от своей совести услышит истинную оценку всей своей земной деятельности. После этого, как бы после процесса судопроизводства, каждый увидит другую книгу, общую для многих, - книгу жизни. Эта книга есть предвидение Божье, утешительное для всех труждающих и обремененных в жизни.
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
20:12: The dead, small and great - All ranks, degrees, and conditions of men. This description seems to refer to Dan 7:9, Dan 7:10.
And the books were opened - See Dan 12:1. "Rab. Jehuda said: All the actions of men, whether good or bad, are written in a book, and of all they shall give account." - Sohar Gen., fol. 79, col. 298. "How careful should men be to shun vice, and to act uprightly before the holy blessed God, seeing there are so many which go throughout the earth, see the works of men, testify of them, and write them in a book!" - Ibid., fol. 105, col. 417.
"In the first day of the new year the holy blessed God sits that he may judge the world; and all men, without exception, give an account of themselves; and the books of the living and the dead are opened."
Sohar Chadash, fol. 19, 1.
The books mentioned here were the books of the living and the dead, or the book of life and the book of death: that is, the account of the good and evil actions of men; the former leading to life, the latter to death. St. John evidently alludes here to Dan 7:10, on which the rabbinical account of the books appears to be founded. The expressions are figurative in both.
According to their works - And according to their faith also, for their works would be the proof whether their faith were true or false; but faith exclusively could be no rule in such a procedure.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
20:12: And I saw the dead, small and great - All the dead - for this language would express that - the whole race being composed of the "small and great." Thus, in other language, the same idea might be expressed by saying, the young and old; the rich and poor; the bond and free; the sick and well; the happy and the unhappy; the righteous and the wicked; for all the human family might, in these respects, be considered as thus divided. The fair meaning in this place therefore is, that all the dead would be there, and of course this would preclude the idea of a "pRev_ious" resurrection of any part of the dead, as of the saints, at the beginning of the millennium. There is no intimation here that it is the wicked dead that are referred to in this description of the final judgment. It is the judgment of all the dead.
Stand before God - That is, they appear thus to be judged. The word "God" here must naturally refer to the final Judge on the throne, and there can be no doubt (see Mat 25:31) that this is the Lord Jesus. Compare Co2 5:10. None can judge the secrets of the heart; none can pronounce on the moral character of all mankind, of all countries and ages, and determine their everlasting allotment, but he who is divine.
And the books were opened - That is, the books containing the record of human deeds. The representation is, that all that people have done is recorded, and that it will be exhibited on the final trial, and will constitute the basis of the last judgment. The imagery seems to be derived from the accusations made against such as are arraigned before human courts of justice.
And another book was opened, which is the book of life - The book containing the record of the names of all who shall enter into life, or into heaven. See the notes on Rev 3:5. The meaning here is, that John saw not only the general books opened containing the records of the deeds of people, but that he had a distinct view of the list or roll of those who were the followers of the Lamb. It would seem that in regard to the multitudes of the impenitent and the wicked, the judgment will proceed "on their deeds" in general; in regard to the righteous, it will turn on the fact that their names had been enrolled in the book of life. That will be sufficient to determine the nature of the sentence that is to be passed on them. He will be safe whose name is found in the book of life; no one will be safe who is to have his eternal destiny determined by his own deeds. This passage proves particularly that the righteous dead are referred to here as being present at the final judgment; and is thus an additional argument against the supposition of a resurrection of the righteous, and a judgment on them, at the beginning of the millennium.
And the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books - The records which had been made of their deeds. The final judgment will proceed on the record that has been made. It will not be arbitrary, and will not be determined by rank, condition, or profession, but it will be according to the record.
According to their works - See the notes on Co2 5:10. The fact that the name of anyone was found in the book of life would seem, as above remarked, to determine the "certainty" of salvation; but the amount of reward would be in proportion to the service rendered to the Redeemer, and the attainments made in piety.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
20:12: I saw: Rev 20:11; Dan 12:2; Joh 5:28, Joh 5:29, Joh 11:25, Joh 11:26; Act 24:15; Co1 15:21-23; Th1 4:15-17
small: Rev 19:5
stand: Rom 14:10-12; Co1 4:5; Co2 5:10
the books: Dan 7:10
and another: Rev 3:5, Rev 13:8, Rev 17:8, Rev 21:27; Psa 69:28; Dan 12:1; Luk 10:20; Phi 4:3
according: Rev 20:13, Rev 2:23, Rev 22:12; Psa 28:4, Psa 62:12; Pro 24:12, Pro 24:29; Ecc 12:14; Jer 17:10; Jer 32:19; Mat 16:27; Rom 2:6; Co2 5:10
Geneva 1599
20:12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before (22) God; and the (23) books were opened: and another book was opened, which is [the book] (24) of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
(22) That is, Christ the judge; (2Cor 5:10).
(23) As it were, his books of reckoning or accounts, that is, the testimony of our conscience, and of our works, which by no means can be avoided.
(24) The book of the eternal decree of God, in which God the Father has elected in Christ according to the good pleasure of his will, those that shall be heirs of life. This also is spoken according to the manner of men.
John Gill
20:12 And I saw the dead,.... An account being given of the Judge, next the persons to be judged are described, and in this clause, by the state and condition in which they had been; for it cannot be thought they were dead when they stood before the throne, but were raised from the dead; for this character is not descriptive of them as dead in trespasses and sins, though they are such as die in their sins, and rise in them, who are meant, but as having been corporeally dead; these are the rest of the dead, the wicked, who lived not again until the thousand years were ended, Rev_ 20:5 as for the righteous, they will be judged upon their resurrection from the dead in the beginning of the day of the Lord; and will be declared righteous and blessed, and be called upon and introduced to inherit the kingdom prepared for them, which they shall have possessed a thousand years when these wicked dead will be raised: who are said to be small and great; which may refer either to their age, being children and adult persons; or to their condition, being kings and peasants, high and low, rich and poor; or to their characters, as greater or lesser sinners; and this description respects them as they are in this world, and is designed to show that no consideration whatever, of age, condition, or character, will exempt them from the general judgment. This is a way of speaking used among the Jews (h), who say,
"in the world of souls, , "the great and the small", stand before God.''
The disputations of the schoolmen, about the age and stature in which mankind will rise and be judged, are vain and foolish: these John saw stand before God; that is, Christ, who is God and Judge of all; before his judgment seat and throne, in order to be judged; for they will stand not as ministering to him, nor as having confidence before him; in this sense they shall not stand in the judgment, Ps 1:5 but as guilty persons, to receive their sentence of condemnation. The Alexandrian copy, the Vulgate Latin, and all the Oriental versions read, "before the throne"; the sense is the same; for if they stood before the throne, they must stand before God, that sat upon it: and the books were opened; the book of God's omniscience, which contains all the actions of the wicked, in which all their sins are taken notice of, and will now be brought to light; and the book of his remembrance, in which they are all written as with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond; and the book of the creatures, which they have abused, and which will witness against them; and the book of providence, the riches of whose goodness have been despised by them; and the book of the Scriptures, both of law and Gospel, as well as the book of nature, of the light of nature, see Rom 2:12 to which may be added, the book of conscience; the consciences of men will be awakened, and will accuse them, and bear witness against them, and be as good as a thousand witnesses:
and another book was opened, which is the book of life: the same that is mentioned in Rev_ 3:5 the book of eternal election, See Gill on Rev_ 3:5, See Gill on Rev_ 13:8, See Gill on Rev_ 17:8. No other use seems to be made of this book in the judgment of the wicked, than only to observe whose names were not written in it, as appears from Rev_ 20:15 reference seems to be had to Dan 7:10. It is a notion that has obtained among the Jews (i), that
"at the beginning of the year (or every new year's day) , "three books are opened", one of the wicked perfect, another of the righteous perfect, and a third of those between both; the righteous perfect are written and sealed immediately for life; the wicked perfect are written and sealed immediately for death; the middlemost are in suspense, and continue from the beginning of the year to the day of atonement; if they are worthy, they are written for life, if not worthy, they are written for death:''
and in the same treatise (k), they represent God at the same time of the year as a
"King, sitting on a throne of judgment, and the books of the living, and the books of the dead, "open", before him:''
this with them was a prelude and a figure of the future judgment:
and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works; that is, they were sentenced to everlasting condemnation and death, according to the just demerit of their wicked works; for no other are done by wicked men, nor can any other be in the books, since they are without God and Christ, and destitute of the Spirit, have no principle of grace to act from, nor any good end in view in any action of theirs. So the Jews say (l),
"all the works which a man does in this world are "written in a book", and they come into thought before the holy King, and they are manifest before him.''
(h) Tzeror Hammor, fol. 154. 2. (i) T. Bab. Roshhashanah, fol. 16. 21. (k) T. Bab. Roshhashanah, fol. 32. 2. & Erachin, fol. 10. 2. (l) Zohar in Gen. fol. 118. 3.
John Wesley
20:12 And I saw the dead, great and small - Of every age and condition. This includes, also, those who undergo a change equivalent to death, 1Cor 15:51. And the books - Human judges have their books written with pen and ink: how different is the nature of these books! Were opened - O how many hidden things will then come to light; and how many will have quite another appearance than they had before in the sight of men! With the book of God's omniscience, that of conscience will then exactly tally. The book of natural law, as well as of revealed, will then also be displayed. It is not said, The books will be read: the light of that day will make them visible to all. Then, particularly, shall every man know himself, and that with the last exactness This will be the first true, full, impartial, universal history. And another book - Wherein are enrolled all that are accepted through the Beloved; all who lived and died in the faith that worketh by love. Which is the book of life, was opened - What manner of expectation will then be, with regard to the issue of the whole! Mal 3:16, &c.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
20:12 the dead--"the rest of the dead" who did not share the first resurrection, and those who died during the millennium.
small and great--B has "the small and the great." A, Vulgate, Syriac, and ANDREAS have "the great and the small." The wicked who had died from the time of Adam to Christ's second advent, and all the righteous and wicked who had died during and after the millennium, shall then have their eternal portion assigned to them. The godly who were transfigured and reigned with Christ during it, shall also be present, not indeed to have their portion assigned as if for the first time (for that shall have been fixed long before, Jn 5:24), but to have it confirmed for ever, and that God's righteousness may be vindicated in the case of both the saved and the lost, in the presence of an assembled universe. Compare "We must ALL appear," &c. Rom 14:10; 2Cor 5:10. The saints having been first pronounced just themselves by Christ out of "the book of life," shall sit as assessors of the Judge. Compare Mt 25:31-32, Mt 25:40, "these My brethren." God's omniscience will not allow the most insignificant to escape unobserved, and His omnipotence will cause the mightiest to obey the summons. The living are not specially mentioned: as these all shall probably first (before the destruction of the ungodly, Rev_ 20:9) be transfigured, and caught up with the saints long previously transfigured; and though present for the confirmation of their justification by the Judge, shall not then first have their eternal state assigned to them, but shall sit as assessors with the Judge.
the books . . . opened-- (Dan 7:10). The books of God's remembrance, alike of the evil and the good (Ps 56:8; Ps 139:4; Mal 3:16): conscience (Rom 2:15-16), the word of Christ (Jn 12:48), the law (Gal 3:10), God's eternal counsel (Ps 139:16).
book of life-- (Rev_ 3:5; Rev_ 13:8; Rev_ 21:27; Ex 32:32-33; Ps 69:28; Dan 12:1; Phil 4:3). Besides the general book recording the works of all, there is a special book for believers in which their names are written, not for their works, but for the work of Christ for, and in, them. Therefore it is called, "the Lamb's book of life." Electing grace has singled them out from the general mass.
according to their works--We are justified by faith, but judged according to (not by) our works. For the general judgment is primarily designed for the final vindication of God's righteousness before the whole world, which in this checkered dispensation of good and evil, though really ruling the world, has been for the time less manifest. Faith is appreciable by God and the believer alone (Rev_ 2:17). But works are appreciable by all. These, then, are made the evidential test to decide men's eternal state, thus showing that God's administration of judgment is altogether righteous.
20:1320:13: Եւ ետ ծով զմեռեալս իւր, եւ մահ եւ դժոխք զիւրեա՛նց մեռեալս. եւ դատեցան իւրաքանչի՛ւր ըստ գործոց իւրեանց:
13 Ծովը տուեց իր մեռելներին, մահն ու դժոխքն էլ՝ իրենց մեռելներին. եւ իւրաքանչիւրը դատուեց ըստ իր գործերի:
13 Եւ ծովը իր մէջի մեռելները տուաւ ու մահը եւ դժոխքը իրենց մէջի մեռելները տուին։ Ամէն մէկը իր գործերուն համեմատ դատուեցաւ։
Եւ ետ ծով զմեռեալս իւր, եւ մահ եւ դժոխք զիւրեանց մեռեալս. եւ դատեցան իւրաքանչիւր ըստ գործոց իւրեանց:

20:13: Եւ ետ ծով զմեռեալս իւր, եւ մահ եւ դժոխք զիւրեա՛նց մեռեալս. եւ դատեցան իւրաքանչի՛ւր ըստ գործոց իւրեանց:
13 Ծովը տուեց իր մեռելներին, մահն ու դժոխքն էլ՝ իրենց մեռելներին. եւ իւրաքանչիւրը դատուեց ըստ իր գործերի:
13 Եւ ծովը իր մէջի մեռելները տուաւ ու մահը եւ դժոխքը իրենց մէջի մեռելները տուին։ Ամէն մէկը իր գործերուն համեմատ դատուեցաւ։
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
20:1313: Тогда отдало море мертвых, бывших в нем, и смерть и ад отдали мертвых, которые были в них; и судим был каждый по делам своим.
20:13  καὶ ἔδωκεν ἡ θάλασσα τοὺς νεκροὺς τοὺς ἐν αὐτῇ, καὶ ὁ θάνατος καὶ ὁ ᾅδης ἔδωκαν τοὺς νεκροὺς τοὺς ἐν αὐτοῖς, καὶ ἐκρίθησαν ἕκαστος κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτῶν.
20:13. καὶ (And) ἔδωκεν (it-gave,"ἡ (the-one) θάλασσα (a-sea,"τοὺς (to-the-ones) νεκροὺς ( to-en-deaded ,"τοὺς (to-the-ones) ἐν (in) αὐτῇ, (unto-it,"καὶ (and) ὁ (the-one) θάνατος (a-death) καὶ (and) ὁ (the-one) ᾅδης (a-hades) ἔδωκαν (they-gave) τοὺς (to-the-ones) νεκροὺς ( to-en-deaded ,"τοὺς (to-the-ones) ἐν (in) αὐτοῖς, (unto-them,"καὶ (and) ἐκρίθησαν (they-were-separated) ἕκαστος (each) κατὰ ( down ) τὰ ( to-the-ones ) ἔργα ( to-works ) αὐτῶν . ( of-them )
20:13. et dedit mare mortuos qui in eo erant et mors et inferus dederunt mortuos qui in ipsis erant et iudicatum est de singulis secundum opera ipsorumAnd the sea gave up the dead that were in it: and death and hell gave up their dead that were in them. And they were judged, every one according to their works.
13. 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 man according to their works.
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works:

13: Тогда отдало море мертвых, бывших в нем, и смерть и ад отдали мертвых, которые были в них; и судим был каждый по делам своим.
20:13  καὶ ἔδωκεν ἡ θάλασσα τοὺς νεκροὺς τοὺς ἐν αὐτῇ, καὶ ὁ θάνατος καὶ ὁ ᾅδης ἔδωκαν τοὺς νεκροὺς τοὺς ἐν αὐτοῖς, καὶ ἐκρίθησαν ἕκαστος κατὰ τὰ ἔργα αὐτῶν.
20:13. et dedit mare mortuos qui in eo erant et mors et inferus dederunt mortuos qui in ipsis erant et iudicatum est de singulis secundum opera ipsorum
And the sea gave up the dead that were in it: and death and hell gave up their dead that were in them. And they were judged, every one according to their works.
ru▾ el▾ el-en-gloss▾ vulgate▾ erva_1895▾
jfb▾ jw▾ jg▾ gnv▾ tr▾ ab▾ ac▾ tb▾ all ▾
А. П. Лопухин: Tолковая Библия или комментарий на все книги Св.Писания Ветхого и Нового Заветов - 1903-1914
13: Дополняя прежнее и объясняя, откровение говорит далее и о том, кто были и откуда пришли те мертвые, которые предстали пред престолом Судии. Они суть те, которых отдали море, смерть и ад. Море - место смерти многих людей; смерть - гибель людей на земле безвестным образом; ад - не место мучения, но в смысле внутренности земли, подземного мира - все погребенные, зарытые в землю. Значит, все умершие, без всякого исключения, где бы и как бы они не умерли, независимо от того, во что было обращено их смертное тело, все они воскреснут и в своих обновленных телах предстанут на суд.
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
20:13: The sea gave up the dead - Those who had been drowned in it, and those millions slain in naval contests, who had no other grave.
And death - All who died by any kind of disease. Death is here personified, and represented as a keeper of defunct human beings; probably no more than earth or the grave is meant, as properly belonging to the empire of death.
And hell - Ἁιδης, Hades, the place of separate spirits. The sea and death have the bodies of all human beings; hades has their spirits. That they may be judged, and punished or rewarded according to their works, their bodies and souls must be reunited; hades, therefore, gives up the spirits; and the sea and the earth give up the bodies.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
20:13: And the sea gave up the dead which were in it - All that had been buried in the depths of ocean. This number in the aggregate will be great. If we include all who were swept off by the flood, and all who have perished by shipwreck, and all who have been killed in naval battles and buried in the sea, and all who have been swept away by inundations of the ocean, and all who have peacefully died at sea, as sailors, or in the pursuits of commerce or benevolence, the number in the aggregate will be immense - a number so vast that it was proper to notice them particularly in the account of the general resurrection and the last judgment.
And death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them - That is, all the dead came, from all regions where they were scattered - on the land and in the ocean - in this world and in the invisible world. "Death and hell" are here personified, and are represented as having dominion over the dead, and as now "delivering" up, or "surrendering" those who were held tinder them. On the meaning of the words used here, see the notes on Rev 1:18; Rev 6:8. Compare the Mat 10:23 note; Job 10:21-22 notes; Isa 14:9 note. This whole representation is entirely inconsistent with the supposition that a large part of the dead had been already raised up at the beginning of the millennial period, and had been permitted, in their glorified bodies, to reign with Christ.
And they were judged, ... - All these were judged - the righteous and the wicked; those buried at sea, and those buried on the land; the small and the great; the dead, in whatever world they may have been.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
20:13: the sea: Joh 5:28, Joh 5:29
and death: Rev 20:14, Rev 6:8; Hos 13:14; Co1 15:50-58
hell: or, the grave, Co1 15:55 *marg.
and they: Rev 20:12
Geneva 1599
20:13 (25) And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
(25) This is a reply or an answer to an objection: for some man will say, "But they are dead, whom the sea, death and the grave has consumed, how shall they appear before the judge?" John answers, by resurrection from death, where all things (however repugnant) shall minister and serve at the commandment of God, as in (Dan 12:1-2).
John Gill
20:13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it,.... Which is not to be interpreted metaphorically of the world, and the men of it, who are like the troubled sea; but literally of the sea, and of all such who have been drowned in the waters of it, as were Pharaoh and his host; or have died upon the mighty waters, and have been cast into them, and devoured by the fishes; and particular regard may be had to the men of the old world, drowned by the flood; these shall be raised from thence; the sea shall deliver them up: now this, and what is expressed in the next clause, will not be done after the judgment is set, the books are opened, and the sentence passed, but before all this, and in order to it, as the last clause of this verse shows:
and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them; "death", which is here represented as a person, and elsewhere as a king, reigning and having power over men, signifies death in general, and every kind of death of which men have died, whether natural or violent, over whom it will now have no longer dominion, but will be obliged to deliver up all its subjects; and "hell" signifies the grave, which will now be opened, and deliver up all its prisoners, all that have been buried in the earth; see Job 26:5 the Ethiopic version adds, "and the earth delivered up them that were dead in it": but this seems unnecessary after the former:
and they were judged every man according to their works; some to greater, some to lesser punishment, as their sinful works deserved.
John Wesley
20:13 Death and hades gave up the dead that were in them - Death gave up all the bodies of men; and hades, the receptacle of separate souls, gave them up, to be re - united to their bodies.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
20:13 death and hell--Greek, "Hades." The essential identity of the dying and risen body is hereby shown; for the sea and grave give up their dead. The body that sinned or served God shall, in righteous retribution, be the body also that shall suffer or be rewarded. The "sea" may have a symbolical [CLUVER from AUGUSTINE], besides the literal meaning, as, in Rev_ 8:8; Rev_ 12:12; Rev_ 13:1; Rev_ 18:17, Rev_ 18:19; so "death" and "hell" are personifications (compare Rev_ 21:1). But the literal sense need hardly be departed from: all the different regions wherein the bodies and souls of men had been, gave them up.
20:1420:14: Մա՛հ՝ եւ դժոխք մատնեցան ՚ի լիճ հրոյն[5335]: [5335] Ոսկան յաւելու. Եւ մահ եւ դժոխք մատնեցան ՚ի լիճն հրոյ. այս է մահն երկրորդ։
14 Մահը եւ դժոխքը նետուեցին կրակէ լճի մէջ[29]:[29] Յունարէնն աւելացնում է՝ այս է երկրորդ մահը:
14 Եւ մահը ու դժոխքը կրակի լիճին մէջ ձգուեցան։ Ասիկա է երկրորդ մահը։
Մահ եւ դժոխք մատնեցան ի լիճ հրոյն[322]:

20:14: Մա՛հ՝ եւ դժոխք մատնեցան ՚ի լիճ հրոյն[5335]:
[5335] Ոսկան յաւելու. Եւ մահ եւ դժոխք մատնեցան ՚ի լիճն հրոյ. այս է մահն երկրորդ։
14 Մահը եւ դժոխքը նետուեցին կրակէ լճի մէջ[29]:
[29] Յունարէնն աւելացնում է՝ այս է երկրորդ մահը:
14 Եւ մահը ու դժոխքը կրակի լիճին մէջ ձգուեցան։ Ասիկա է երկրորդ մահը։
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
20:1414: И смерть и ад повержены в озеро огненное. Это смерть вторая.
20:14  καὶ ὁ θάνατος καὶ ὁ ᾅδης ἐβλήθησαν εἰς τὴν λίμνην τοῦ πυρός. οὖτος ὁ θάνατος ὁ δεύτερός ἐστιν, ἡ λίμνη τοῦ πυρός.
20:14. καὶ (And) ὁ (the-one) θάνατος (a-death) καὶ (and) ὁ (the-one) ᾅδης (a-hades) ἐβλήθησαν (they-were-casted) εἰς (into) τὴν (to-the-one) λίμνην (to-a-lake) τοῦ (of-the-one) πυρός. (of-a-fire) οὗτος (The-one-this) ὁ (the-one) θάνατος (a-death) ὁ (the-one) δεύτερός (second) ἐστιν, (it-be) ἡ (the-one) λίμνη (a-lake) τοῦ (of-the-one) πυρός. (of-a-fire)
20:14. et inferus et mors missi sunt in stagnum ignis haec mors secunda est stagnum ignisAnd hell and death were cast into the pool of fire. This is the second death.
14. And death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire.
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death:

14: И смерть и ад повержены в озеро огненное. Это смерть вторая.
20:14  καὶ ὁ θάνατος καὶ ὁ ᾅδης ἐβλήθησαν εἰς τὴν λίμνην τοῦ πυρός. οὖτος ὁ θάνατος ὁ δεύτερός ἐστιν, ἡ λίμνη τοῦ πυρός.
20:14. et inferus et mors missi sunt in stagnum ignis haec mors secunda est stagnum ignis
And hell and death were cast into the pool of fire. This is the second death.
ru▾ el▾ el-en-gloss▾ vulgate▾ erva_1895▾
jfb▾ jw▾ jg▾ gnv▾ tr▾ ab▾ ac▾ tb▾ all ▾
А. П. Лопухин: Tолковая Библия или комментарий на все книги Св.Писания Ветхого и Нового Заветов - 1903-1914
14: Смерть и ад употреблены здесь как олицетворения (Ср. 1: Kop 15:26). Смерть - прекращение земной жизни тленного человеческого тела, ад - состояние душ людей, ожидающих времени страшного суда. Но когда суд уже совершился, тогда и смерть уже неуместна, излишня. Смерть первая есть (кроме смерти телесной) первое (не окончательное) отчуждение человеческой души от Бож. благодати; смерть вторая есть окончательное и бесповоротное суждение человека после страшного суда, когда он совершенно лишается надежды на всякое улучшение своего состояния: он ввергается в озеро огненное как место его вечных мучений.
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
20:14: And death and hell were cast into the lake - Death himself is now abolished, and the place for separate spirits no longer needful. All dead bodies and separated souls being rejoined, and no more separation of bodies and souls by death to take place, consequently the existence of these things is no farther necessary.
This is the second death - The first death consisted in the separation of the soul from the body for a season; the second death in the separation of body and soul from God for ever. The first death is that from which there may be a resurrection; the second death is that from which there can be no recovery. By the first the body is destroyed during time; by the second, body and soul are destroyed through eternity.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
20:14: And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire - Death and Hades (hell) are here personified, as they are in the pRev_ious verse. The declaration is equivalent to the statement in Co1 15:26; "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death." See the notes on that passage. The idea is, that death, considered as the separation of soul and body, with all the attendant woes, will exist no more. The righteous will live foRev_er, and the wicked will linger on in a state never to be terminated by death. The reign of Death and Hades, as such, would come to an end, and a new order of things would commence where this would be unknown. There might be what would be properly called death, but it would not be death in this form; the soul would live foRev_er, but it would not be in that condition represented by the word ᾅδης hadē s - "hades." There would be "death" still, but a "second death differs from the first, in the fact that it is not a separation of the soul and body, but a state of "continual agony" like what the first death inflicts - like that in intensity, but not in kind" (Prof. Stuart).
This is the second death - That is, this whole process here described - the condemnation, and the final death and ruin of those whose names are "not found written in the book of life" - properly constitutes the second death. This proves that when it is said that "death and hell were cast into the lake of fire," it cannot be meant that all punishment will cease foRev_er, and that all will be saved, for the writer goes on to describe what he calls "the second death" as still existing. See Rev 20:15. John describes this as the second death, not because it in all respects resembles the first death, but because it has so many points of resemblance that it may be properly called "death." Death, in any form, is the penalty of law; it is attended with pain; it cuts off from hope, from friends, from enjoyment; it subjects him who dies to a much-dreaded condition, and in all these respects it was proper to call the final condition of the wicked "death" - though it would still be true that the soul would live. There is no evidence that John meant to affirm that the second death would imply an extinction of "existence." Death never does that; the word does not naturally and properly convey that idea.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
20:14: death: Rev 19:20; Hos 13:14; Co1 15:26, Co1 15:53
This: Rev 20:6, Rev 21:8
Geneva 1599
20:14 (26) And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
(26) The last enemy which is death shall be abolished by Christ (that he may no more make any attempt against us) (1Cor 15:16) and death shall feed on the reprobate in hell for evermore, according to the righteous judgment of God, in the next verse (Rev_ 20:15).
John Gill
20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire,.... Death cannot be taken properly, nor hell be the place of torment, for devils and damned spirits; since that is that lake of fire, for then the sense would be, hell is cast into hell; but either by these the devil is meant, who has the power of death, and is the prince of hell, were it not that the casting of him into this lake is mentioned before in Rev_ 20:10 or it denotes the destruction and abolition of death and the grave, that from henceforth they should no more have power over men, nor have any under their dominion, and in their hands; and so what has been promised will now be fully performed, Hos 13:14 see Rev_ 21:4 or rather the wicked dead, which they shall have delivered up, and will be judged and sentenced to eternal death, Rev_ 20:13
this is the second death; or the destruction of the soul and body in hell, which will consist in an eternal separation of both from God, and in a continual sense of his wrath and displeasure. The Alexandrian copy and the Complutensian edition read, "this second death is the lake of fire"; and so the Arabic version, "and this is the second death, even the lake of fire"; and not much different is the Ethiopic version, "the second death, which is the fire of hell".
John Wesley
20:14 And death and hades were cast into the lake of fire - That is, were abolished for ever; for neither the righteous nor the wicked were to die any more: their souls and bodies were no more to be separated. Consequently, neither death nor hades could any more have a being.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
20:14 Death and Hades, as personified representatives of the enemies of Christ' and His Church, are said to be cast into the lake of fire to express the truth that Christ and His people shall never more die, or be in the state of disembodied spirits.
This is the second death--"the lake of fire" is added in A, B, and ANDREAS. English Version, which omits the clause, rests on inferior manuscripts. In hell the ancient form of death, which was one of the enemies destroyed by Christ, shall not continue, but a death of a far different kind reigns there, "everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord": an abiding testimony of the victory of Christ.
20:1520:15: Եւ որ ո՛չ ոք գտաւ ՚ի գիրն կենաց գրեալ՝ արկաւ ՚ի լիճ հրոյն[5336]:[5336] Ոմանք. Եւ որ ոք ոչ գտաւ ՚ի։
15 Եւ նա, որի անունը կեանքի գրքում գրուած չգտնուեց, գցուեց կրակէ լճի մէջ:
15 Եւ ով որ կեանքի գրքին մէջ գրուած չգտնուեցաւ, կրակի լիճին մէջ ձգուեցաւ։
Եւ որ ոք ոչ գտաւ ի գիրն կենաց գրեալ` արկաւ ի լիճ հրոյն:

20:15: Եւ որ ո՛չ ոք գտաւ ՚ի գիրն կենաց գրեալ՝ արկաւ ՚ի լիճ հրոյն[5336]:
[5336] Ոմանք. Եւ որ ոք ոչ գտաւ ՚ի։
15 Եւ նա, որի անունը կեանքի գրքում գրուած չգտնուեց, գցուեց կրակէ լճի մէջ:
15 Եւ ով որ կեանքի գրքին մէջ գրուած չգտնուեցաւ, կրակի լիճին մէջ ձգուեցաւ։
zohrab-1805▾ eastern-1994▾ western am▾
20:1515: И кто не был записан в книге жизни, тот был брошен в озеро огненное.
20:15  καὶ εἴ τις οὐχ εὑρέθη ἐν τῇ βίβλῳ τῆς ζωῆς γεγραμμένος ἐβλήθη εἰς τὴν λίμνην τοῦ πυρός.
20:15. καὶ (And) εἴ (if) τις (a-one) οὐχ (not) εὑρέθη ( it-was-found ) ἐν ( in ) τῇ ( unto-the-one ) βίβλῳ ( unto-a-paper ) τῆς ( of-the-one ) ζωῆς ( of-a-lifing ) γεγραμμένος ( having-had-come-to-be-scribed ,"ἐβλήθη (it-was-casted) εἰς (into) τὴν (to-the-one) λίμνην (to-a-lake) τοῦ (of-the-one) πυρός. (of-a-fire)
20:15. et qui non est inventus in libro vitae scriptus missus est in stagnum ignisAnd whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the pool of fire.
15. And if any was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire.
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire:

15: И кто не был записан в книге жизни, тот был брошен в озеро огненное.
20:15  καὶ εἴ τις οὐχ εὑρέθη ἐν τῇ βίβλῳ τῆς ζωῆς γεγραμμένος ἐβλήθη εἰς τὴν λίμνην τοῦ πυρός.
20:15. et qui non est inventus in libro vitae scriptus missus est in stagnum ignis
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the pool of fire.
ru▾ el▾ el-en-gloss▾ vulgate▾ erva_1895▾
jfb▾ jg▾ tr▾ ab▾ ac▾ tb▾ all ▾
А. П. Лопухин: Tолковая Библия или комментарий на все книги Св.Писания Ветхого и Нового Заветов - 1903-1914
15: Кто не был записан в книгу жизни, т.е. все, которые, по предведению Божию, оказались достойными осуждения, которые не признаны достойными вечного блаженства в Христовом Царстве, все они были брошены в озеро огненное.
Adam Clarke: Commentary on the Bible - 1831
20:15: Written in the book of life - Only those who had continued faithful unto death were taken to heaven. All whose names were not found in the public registers, who either were not citizens, or whose names had been erased from those registers because of crimes against the state, could claim none of those emoluments or privileges which belong to the citizens; so those who either did not belong to the new and spiritual Jerusalem, or who had forfeited their rights and privileges by sin, and had died in that state, were cast into the lake of fire.
This is the way in which God, at the day of judgment, will proceed with sinners and apostates. Reader, see that thy name be written in the sacred register; and, if written in, see that it never be blotted out.
Albert Barnes: Notes on the Bible - 1834
20:15: And whosoever - All persons, of all ranks, ages, and conditions. No word could be more comprehensive than this. The single condition here stated, as being what would save any from being cast into the lake of fire, is, that they are "found written in the book of life." All besides these, princes, kings, nobles, philosophers, statesmen, conquerors; rich men and poor men; the bond and the free; the young and the aged; the frivolous, the vain, the proud, and the sober; the modest and the humble, will be doomed to the lake of fire. Unlike in all other things, they will be alike in the only thing on which their eternal destiny will depend - that they have not so lived that their names have become recorded in the book of life. As they will also be destitute of true religion, there will be a propriety that they shall share the same doom in the future world.
Written in the book of life - See the notes on Rev 3:5.
Was cast into the lake of fire - See the notes on Mat 25:41. That is, they will be doomed to a punishment which will be well represented by their lingering in a sea of fire foRev_er. This is the termination of the judgment - the winding up of the affairs of men. The vision of John here rests for a moment on the doom of the wicked, and then turns to a more full contemplation of the happy lot of the righteous, as detailed in the two closing chapters of the book.
Section e. - Condition of things referred to in Rev 20:11-15;
(1) There will be a general resurrection of the dead - of the righteous and the wicked. This is implied by the statement that the "dead, small and great," were seen to stand before God; that "the sea gave up the dead which were in it"; that "Death and Hades gave up their dead." All were there whose names were or were not written in the book of life.
(2) there will be a solemn and impartial judgment. How long a time this will occupy is not said, and is not necessary to be known - for time is of no consequence where there is an eternity of devotion - but it is said that they will be all judged "according to their works" - that is, strictly according to their character. They will receive no arbitrary doom; they will have no sentence which will not be just. See Mat. 25:31-46.
(3) this will be the "final" judgment. After this, the affairs of the race will be put on a different footing. This will be the end of the present arrangements; the end of the present dispensations; the end of human probation. The great question to be determined in regard to our world will have been settled; what the plan of redemption was intended to accomplish on the earth will have been accomplished; the agency of the Divine Spirit in converting sinners will have come to an end; and the means of grace, as such, will be employed no more. There is not here or elsewhere an intheation that beyond this period any of these things will exist, or that the work of redemption, as such, will extend into the world beyond the judgment. As there is no intheation that the condition of the righteous will be changed, so there is none that the condition of the wicked will be; as there is no hint that the righteous will ever be exposed to temptation, or to the danger of falling into sin, so there is none that the offers of salvation will ever again be made to the wicked. On the contrary, the whole representation is, that all beyond this will be fixed and unchangeable foRev_er. See the notes on Rev 22:11.
(4) the wicked will be destroyed, in what may be properly called the "second" death. As remarked in the notes, this does not mean that this death will in all respects resemble the first death, but there will be so many points of resemblance that it will be proper to call it "death." It does not mean that they will be "annihilated," for "death" never implies that. The meaning is, that this will be a cutting off from what is properly called "life," from hope, from happiness, and from peace, and a subjection to pain and agony, which it will be proper to call "death" - death in the most fearful form; death that will continue for ever. No statements in the Bible are more clear than those which are made on this point; no affirmation of the eternal punishment of the wicked "could be" more explicit than those which occur in the sacred Scriptures. See the Mat 25:46 note, and Th2 1:9 note.
(5) this will be the end of the woes and calamities produced in the kingdom of God by sin. The reign of Satan and of Death, so far as the Redeemer's kingdom is concerned, will be at an end and henceforward the church will be safe from all the arts and efforts of its foes. Religion will be triumphant, and the affairs of the universe be reduced to permanent order.
(6) the preparation is thus made for the final triumph of the righteous - the state to which all things tend. The writer of this book has conducted the prospective history through all the times of persecution which awaited the church, and stated the principal forms of error which would pRev_ail, and foretold the conflicts through which the church would pass, and described its eventful history to the millennial period, and to the final triumph of truth and righteousness; and now nothing remains to complete the plan of the work but to give a rapid sketch of the final condition of the redeemed. This is done in the two following chapters, and with this the work is ended.
R. A. Torrey - Treasury: Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge - 1880
20:15: whosoever: Mar 16:16; Joh 3:18, Joh 3:19, Joh 3:36, Joh 14:6; Act 4:12; Heb 2:3, Heb 12:25; Jo1 5:11, Jo1 5:12
was cast: Rev 19:20; Mat 25:41; Mar 9:43-48
John Gill
20:15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life,.... Upon the opening of it, Rev_ 20:12 as all that worship the beast, and wonder after him, Rev_ 13:8 and all wicked men, everyone of them:
was cast into the lake of fire; where are the devil, beast, and false prophet, Rev_ 19:20. It is a saying of R. Isaac (m),
"woe to the wicked, who are not written "in the book", for they shall perish in hell for ever and ever:''
and in the Targum on Ezek 13:9 it is said of the false prophets,
"that , "in the writing of eternal life" (or in the book of eternal life), which is written for the righteous of the house of Israel, they shall not be written.''
There seems to be some allusion in the phrase used here, and in the preceding verse, and elsewhere in this book, to the lake Asphaltites, a sulphurous lake, where Sodom and Gomorrah stood, which the Jews call the salt sea, or the bituminous lake; and whatsoever was useless, or rejected, or abominable, or accursed, they used to say, to show their rejection and detestation of it, let it be cast into the sea of salt, or the bituminous lake; thus, for instance,
"any vessels that had on them the image of the sun, or of the moon, or of a dragon, , "let them cast them into the salt sea", or bituminous lake (n).''
(m) Tosaphta in Zohar in Gen. fol. 78. 2. (n) T. Bab. Avoda Zara, fol. 42. 2. Vid. ib. fol. 49. 1. &. 53. 1. & 71. 2. & Nazir, fol. 24. 2. & 26. 1, 2. Bava Metzia, fol. 52. 2. Temura, fol. 22. 2. & Meila, fol. 9. 2. & 10. 1.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown
20:15 The blissful lot of the righteous is not here specially mentioned as their bliss had commenced before the final judgment. Compare, however, Mt 25:34, Mt 25:41, Mt 25:46.