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Commentary on Revelation 20 verses 1–10
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, Rev 20:2, Rev 20:3. (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 (Rev 20:4-6), 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, Rev 20:6. 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, Rev 20:8. 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 10:2. 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 Eze 38:2, a prophecy whence this in Revelation borrows many of its images. 5. We have the march and military disposition of this formidable army (Rev 20:9.): 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 (Eze 38:22), 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.
"And they went up upon 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. And the devil who seduced them was cast into the take of fire and brimstone, where both the beast and the false prophet shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever."]This belongs to the last judgment. And after a little time the earth was made holy, as being at least that wherein lately had reposed the bodies of the virgins, when they shall enter upon an eternal kingdom with an immortal King, as they who are not only virgins in body, but, moreover, with equal inviolability have protected themselves, both in tongue and thought, from wickedness; and these, it shows, shall dwell in rejoicing for ever with the Lamb.
At that time the devil will have a single objective in his deception, namely, to bring on this battle, rather than deceive by the multifarious means of his previous malice. The expression “will go forth” means that his secret hatred will blaze out into open persecution. For this is to be the very last of all persecutions immediately preceding the very last of all judgments—a persecution that Holy church, the worldwide city of Christ, is to suffer at the hands of the worldwide city of the devil, in every place where the two cities will then extend. The peoples John calls Gog and Magog are not to be thought of as some definite barbarians dwelling in a certain part of the earth, such as the Getae and Massagetae (as some have imagined on account of the initial letters), or any other foreign tribes beyond the pale of the Roman Empire. John clearly indicates that they are to be everywhere in the world, “nations that are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog.” Of these names I am told that, literally, Gog means “a roof” and Magog “from the roof.” Thus we may take the words to mean an “abode” and a “person issuing from this abode” and, therefore, “the peoples in whom the devil abides as in an abyss” and “the devil himself, lifting himself up and coming out of them.” They are the “roof,” and he is “from the roof.” If … we apply both names to the peoples (rather than the first to them, the second to the devil), then they are the “roof” because the ancient foe is now shut up and roofed over in them, and they will issue “from the roof” when their concealed hatred bursts forth and is revealed in the open.
This does not mean that they have come, or shall come, to one place, as if the camp of the saints and the beloved city should be in some one place; for this camp is nothing else than the Church of Christ extending over the whole world. And consequently wherever the Church shall be,— and it shall be in all nations, as is signified by the breadth of the earth,— there also shall be the camp of the saints and the beloved city, and there it shall be encompassed by the savage persecution of all its enemies; for they too shall exist along with it in all nations,— that is, it shall be straitened, and hard pressed, and shut up in the straits of tribulation, but shall not desert its military duty, which is signified by the word camp.
In this passage “to deceive” means to scatter or to spoil, that is, to drag the nations along with him into condemnation, namely, all the wicked whom he has deceived in every part of the earth. And he will cause those who have been gathered together with him in one single condemnation to be delivered over to eternal torments. For Gog means “roof” and Magog means “out of the covering” or “out from the roof.” Everyone whom he has brought out and led to the collapse of his own arrogance, or those whom he supported by the roof of his pride, or those who will be recognized as coming from the same cover and height of his arrogance, all these persons will be taken at the same time in one condemnation and by an eternal fire. When it says, “he will gather them for battle,” it describes as something future what is in the past, for in some manner this battle is the hostility that the wicked have toward good works. And since those who are wicked are many and numerous, he adds, “whose number is like the sand of the sea.”
Satan will be loosed from his prison and will deceive all nations and will entice Gog and Magog to war for the devastation of the world. Some believe that these two are the remote northern people of the Scythians, whom we call the Huns, and, as we see, are the most populous and warlike of any kingdom on earth and are kept from seizing the whole earth until the loosing of the devil by the hand of God alone.… Some interpret on the basis of the Hebrew language and render Gog as “one who gathers” or “that which is gathered” and Magog as “one who is exalted.” In this way, these names signify either the gathering of the nations or their exaltation. We should note that Ezekiel prophesied that these nations would come upon the earth with great power at the end of time, that Israel would fall and for a period of seven years would burn by their arms as though through a great fire. Some interpreters refer this to the fall of the Assyrians under Sennacherib at the time of Hezekiah, which happened a long time prior to the prophecy of Ezekiel. Others refer this to the destruction of the nations that attacked those coming to rebuild Jerusalem after the conquest by the Babylonians, when first Cyrus the Persian and then Darius ordered the governors of Syria to do this. Yet others refer to the forces of Antiochus, which were defeated by the Maccabees. However, it is clear that the arrival of these nations best suits the final times. First of all, it is nowhere written that the nation of the Scythians waged war against the Jews at that time, but only those nations round about them that envied their prosperity. Second, concerning Gog it is written, “He will be prepared from the days of old and will come at the end of time.” Third, in the present Revelation, which foretells future events, it is written that Gog and Magog will come toward the end of this age.
And he will go out and deceive the nations, etc. Then he will deceive them to gather them for this battle. For even before, in the ways he could, he was deceiving through many and various evils. For it is said that he will go out: he will burst forth from the hidden places of his hatred into open persecution. Furthermore, Gog and Magog either signify the whole from a part or, according to the interpretation of their names, which are said to mean roof and from the roof, indicate hidden and open enemies. And they are the roof, because the enemy is now enclosed and ruled in them: and they will be from the roof when they erupt into open hatred.
Therefore, enough of these things. But since he said in what has gone before that the Devil will come forth to deceive the nations, he now says what nations and from whom they are gathered: He says, Gog and Magog, to gather them to the war.
A war, however, against the saints. For having fulfilled the discourse concerning the salvific incarnation, he again returned from where he had gone out and related those things to us. He had gone forth from the Devil and the Antichrist; and from the defeat and punishment of the nations taken with them. Now I complete what was previously said insufficiently. He joins to the remaining nations those who have joined battle with the Antichrist; and Gog, thus saying:
And he went out to deceive all the nations that are in the four corners of the earth; among whom he says also Gog and Magog, to gather them together to the war, whose number is like the sand of the sea.
Concerning these, of Gog and of Magog, the prophetic seer Ezekiel delivered a prophecy, explaining how the wicked will be destroyed. These will be certain nations and rulers of nations gathered around the end (see Ezek. 38-39); for now they do not yet exist, or they are some of the nations now existing called by different names in the divine Scripture. These therefore will resist the God-hating Satan against the servants of Christ.
Like wild beasts from their lairs, so these also will be released over the earth from their places through the Devil their general, so that they may destroy the camps of the saints-that is, the Church- which have been established in the four extremities of the world; unaware that not one angel but many are those that surround the fearers of God, as the Psalm says, “Camps of angels of the Lord surround his fearers and guard them.” Ps 33:8 Straightaway they will also lay hands on the holy city Jerusalem; whence the divine law was spread throughout the whole world by the apostles, and where too we have learned from the Apostle that Antichrist sits in the temple. 2Thess 2:4
the beloved city. That is Jerusalem, which will be inhabited at that time by Christians, as was said in Ez. 39.
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SUMMARY
Revelation 20:8 vividly portrays the final, climactic act of rebellion against God following the thousand-year reign of Christ. It details Satan's release from his millennial confinement and his immediate, relentless endeavor to deceive the nations across the entire earth, rallying them under the symbolic banners of Gog and Magog for a futile, last-ditch battle against God's people. This immense gathering, described as countless as the sand of the sea, underscores the pervasive nature of deception and the enduring human susceptibility to evil, even after an era of unparalleled divine rule.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Revelation 20:8 employs several powerful literary devices to convey its prophetic message. Symbolism is paramount, particularly in the use of "Gog and Magog." While these names have specific Old Testament roots, John re-employs them here not as literal historical entities but as archetypal representations of all hostile, rebellious forces that will gather against God's people at the end of the age. This broadens their meaning from a specific nation to a universal embodiment of antichristian opposition. The phrase "four quarters of the earth" is a common Merism, representing the entirety of the world by listing its extreme points. Hyperbole is evident in the description "the number of whom is as the sand of the sea." This is a classic biblical idiom, not meant to be taken literally as an exact count, but rather to emphasize the immeasurable, overwhelming multitude of the rebellious army. This phrase also functions as a powerful Simile, drawing a direct comparison to emphasize the vastness. Finally, the entire passage is a profound Allusion to the prophecies of Ezekiel 38, Ezekiel 39, recontextualizing them within John's apocalyptic vision to describe the ultimate, final confrontation between good and evil.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Revelation 20:8 serves as a stark theological commentary on the enduring nature of sin and the relentless opposition of evil, even in the face of perfect divine governance. It reveals that human rebellion is not merely a product of adverse circumstances or lack of knowledge, but a deep-seated spiritual inclination that can persist even after a thousand years of Christ's righteous and visible rule. This highlights the profound reality of free will and the capacity for ultimate rejection of God. Despite the pervasive peace and justice of the millennial kingdom, hearts not truly transformed by grace will remain susceptible to Satan's deception. The verse underscores God's absolute sovereignty, however, as this final rebellion, though immense, is ultimately allowed by God for His own purposes—to demonstrate the utter futility of resisting His power and to bring about the final, decisive judgment of all evil. It is a testament to the fact that evil will be given one last opportunity to fully manifest itself before its eternal demise, ensuring that God's justice is fully vindicated and His kingdom eternally established without any lingering opposition.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Revelation 20:8 stands as a sobering reminder of the persistent reality of spiritual warfare and the need for unwavering vigilance in our faith. Even after a period of unparalleled peace and divine rule, deception can still find fertile ground in unregenerate hearts. This underscores that true transformation comes not merely from external circumstances or the absence of evil influence, but from an internal, Spirit-wrought change that yields fully to Christ's Lordship. For believers, this verse emphasizes the critical importance of discernment, of being deeply rooted in God's Word, and of cultivating an intimate relationship with Christ so as not to be swayed by the subtle or overt schemes of the enemy. It reminds us that our battle is ultimately spiritual, against forces of darkness that seek to mislead and destroy. While the scale of this final rebellion is immense, the ultimate message is one of hope and assurance: God's victory is absolute and certain. All who oppose Him will be utterly defeated, and His eternal kingdom will prevail. This should inspire confidence and perseverance in our own walk, knowing that our King will ultimately triumph over all evil.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Who are Gog and Magog in Revelation 20:8?
Answer: In Revelation 20:8, "Gog and Magog" are generally understood as symbolic representations of all the nations and peoples who ultimately align themselves against God and His saints at the end of the age. While the names are drawn from the Old Testament prophecy in Ezekiel chapters 38-39, where they refer to specific historical or future enemies of Israel, John's usage in Revelation appears to broaden their meaning. Here, they embody the sum total of all ungodly forces gathered for a final, futile assault against God's kingdom, representing the archetypal enemies of God's people from all corners of the earth.
Why would nations rebel against God after a thousand years of Christ's righteous rule?
Answer: This question points to the profound reality of human free will and the deep-seated nature of sin. Even after a thousand years of perfect peace, justice, and the visible reign of Christ on earth, hearts that have not been truly transformed by God's grace will remain unregenerate and susceptible to deception. The Millennium, while a time of unparalleled righteousness, does not eradicate the human capacity for rebellion. When Satan is released, he finds fertile ground in those who, despite living under Christ's perfect rule, have not personally yielded their hearts to Him. This demonstrates that true obedience and love for God must be a choice, not merely a consequence of external circumstances.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Revelation 20:8, though detailing a final, massive rebellion, ultimately serves to magnify the absolute sovereignty and ultimate triumph of Jesus Christ. This gathering of innumerable foes, led by the perpetually deceptive Satan, is not a threat to God's reign but a final, orchestrated display of the futility of all opposition before Christ's definitive judgment. It highlights Jesus' role as the supreme King and Judge, who will decisively put an end to all evil. The Lamb of God, who was slain to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29), is also the Lion of Judah (Revelation 5:5) who conquers all His enemies. This final battle, though seemingly overwhelming in its scale, is swiftly and effortlessly defeated by fire from heaven (Revelation 20:9), a testament to Christ's omnipotence and His complete victory over sin, death, and the devil. The ultimate outcome is not the triumph of rebellion, but the eternal casting of Satan into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:10), ushering in the new heavens and new earth where righteousness dwells (2 Peter 3:13) and Christ reigns forevermore (Revelation 11:15). Thus, even this depiction of widespread rebellion underscores the glorious and unassailable fulfillment of all things in Christ Jesus.