Gog and Magog are defeated in battle;
The dead are judged;
The New Jerusalem
After describing a thousand-year era of peace, a new set of illustrations follow, once again depicting a final battle scene and the judgments to follow. Seen through the lens of parallelism, these scenes depict the same victory described earlier but from a different perspective.
(*All Bible verses are from the NIV unless otherwise noted)
Chapter 20
6 Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years.
7 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison
8 and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on the seashore.
9 They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves. But fire came down from heaven and devoured them.
10 And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
Rev 20:6
Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection:
The ancient Israelites brought the first and best of their harvest as an offering to God:
Exod 23:16“Celebrate the Festival of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field. “Celebrate the Festival of In-gathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.
Exod 23:19“Bring the best of the firstfruits of your soil to the house of the LORD your God…
Paul used this tradition as an illustration of the hope of new life believers have in Christ:
1Cor 15:20But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. 22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. 23 But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him.
Christ’s physical resurrection was attested to by hundreds of eyewitnesses:
AI-generated image, Stable Diffusion, May 17, 2024
John 20:14At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus. 15 He asked her, “Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?”Thinking he was the gardener, she said, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him.” 16 Jesus said to her, “Mary.”She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”). 17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’ ”
Mark 16:12 Afterward, Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country.
Luke 24:30When he was at the table with them, he took bread, gave thanks, broke it and began to give it to them. 31 Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.
AI-generated image, Stable Diffusion, May 17, 2024
Luke 24:36While they were still talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” 37 They were startled and frightened, thinking they saw a ghost.
38 He said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts rise in your minds? 39 Look at my hands and my feet. It is I myself! Touch me and see; a ghost does not have flesh and bones, as you see I have.”
John 20:26A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.”
Christ’s Assencion, AI-generated image, Stable Diffusion, March 10, 2025.
Acts 1:3After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.
Acts 1:9After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. 10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”
1Cor 15:6After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep.
Acts 9:4 [Saul] fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?” 5 “Who are you, lord?” Saul asked. And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting!
Jesus’ resurrection brings hope to all who follow him. The true marvel of John’s vision is that he was witnessing the eternal principles of a living Church and defining the culmination of God’s creative work in history. Resurrection encompasses the transformation of our spiritual lives – becoming new creatures in Christ – as much as the regeneration from perishable bodies to immortal ones.
Rom 6:4We were, therefore, buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. 5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his.
Rev 20:6
For them the second death holds no power:
Review the study of the “second death” in Rev 2:11. Separation from God in this life or in the life to come is a life lived in the darkness of sorrow and regret.
The second death is mentioned several times in the Book of Revelation and is associated with the lake of fire, the ultimate demise of wickedness. It’s called a “death” because it represents a separation from God, who is the source of life. It’s called the “second” death because it occurs after physical death.
Rev 21:8 will explore the second death in more detail: “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters, and all liars – their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
Three other passages in Revelation address the second death:
Rev 2:11: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.”
Rev 21:8 But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”
Rev 20:14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire.
Rev 20:7
When the thousand years come to an end, Satan will be let out of his prison:
Consider again what John has seen concerning the “beast”:
Beast from the Abyss
Rev 11:7Now, when they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will attack them and overpower and kill them.
Beast from the Abyss
Rev 17:8The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. The inhabitants of the earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the creation of the world will be astonished when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come.
Satan’s rising from the bottomless pit to deceive the souls of humankind is an essential part of his character and an expression of his nature.
His rising is not limited to a specific point in history,
but occurs whenever and wherever man refuses to submit to God.
The Enemy is Apollyon, Abaddon, the Destroyer, a perishing and destruction1!
Job 26:6The realm of the dead is naked before God;Destruction lies uncovered.
Prov 15:11 Death and Destruction lie open before the LORD—how much more do human hearts!
When individuals, groups, or nations give in to evil desires and intentions, destruction follows, both personally and spiritually. Beyond a singular event in history, Satan’s rising to confront goodness is an eternal principle. He is a rising-from-the-abyss kind of beast – Abaddon, the destroyer – whenever and wherever people pursue things of the world rather than God.
Rev 20:8
[He] will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle
Previous passages such as 16:4, 17:14, and 19:14-21, seem to describe a final battleof good against evil. Through the lens of parallelism, the same ultimate conflict is viewed from different perspectives.
Throughout history, Israel has lived under the threat of attack from neighboring countries.
Ezekiel prophesied against Magog, one of Israel’s enemies to the north. Gog was its “chief prince.” (Ezek 38-39). The Old Testament records that Magog was one of the grandsons of Noah:
Gen 10:2The sons of Japheth were Gomer and Magog and Madai and Javan and Tubal and Meshech and Tiras. (also, 1 Chronicles 1:5)
Josephus wrote: For Gomer founded those whom the Greeks now call Galatians, [Galls,] but were then called Gomerites. Magog founded those that from him were named Magogites, but who are by the Greeks called Scythians. (Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews, 1:6.1)
The ancient writers used the word “Scythians” as a collective term to denote all the northeastern, unknown, barbarous tribes.
The NASB translates Ezek 38:1-3 as, “Son of man, set your face toward Gog of the land of Magog, the prince of Rosh.” The Hebrew word for chief is rosh, and is not the name of a nation. Rosh never appears as a nation in any biblical list of place names.
Because of this mistranslation, some writers have argued that the former Soviet Union would play the role of Gog and Magog because rush sounds similar to rus, which could be associated with the ancient Kyivan state of Rus in northeastern Europe (late 9th to mid-13th century).Russia, Rus, and Rosh sound remotely similar, leading some to believe that Gog is the Premier of Russia.
But it’s unnecessary to suppose that any particular “country” is referred to. Instead, Gog and Magog are used in John’s vision as symbolic references to Satan’s evil forces gathered against the saints, much like Babylon and Egypt are used to represent conquest and captivity. Evil is enduring and deeply rooted and continually threatens God’s people, whether Jew or Gentile.
Gal 5:19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
Matt 15:18But the things that come out of a person’s mouth come from the heart, and these defile them.
Jas 1:14but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
It’s only the presence of the Holy Spirit that offers the hope, freedom, and strength to face the enemy and declare victory in Jesus’ name!
Psa 27:1 The LORD is my light and my salvation—whom shall I fear?The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid?
Psa 118:15 Shouts of joy and victoryresound in the tents of the righteous:“The LORD’s right hand has done mighty things!
Rom 8:1-2 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death.
Gal 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Against such things, there is no law.
Eph 2:8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Rev 20:9
They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves:
Notice the subtle difference in the translation of this verse (emphasis added):
ESV: And they marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city…
NIV2, HCSB: They marched across the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of God’s people, the city he loves…
In some translations, the saints are seen as ” the city God loves.”This would be consistent with other verses identifying the Church as the “bride of Christ” and the “New Jerusalem.”
2 Cor 11:2 I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.
Eph 5:26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.
Rev 21:1Then I saw “a new heaven and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.
Rev 21:9 Oneof the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.” 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.
Rev 20:9-10
But fire came down from heaven and devoured them. And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur::
Without elaboration and in a matter-of-fact conclusion, John sees the enemy simply swept away.
Compare these parallel verses from Chapters 14 and 19:
Rev 14:10…they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. 11 And the smoke of their torment will rise forever and ever…
Rev 19:20But the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed the signs on its behalf. With these signs he had deluded those who had received the mark of the beast and worshiped its image. The two of them were thrown alive into the fiery lake of burning sulfur.
