1.

And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.

Verse 1
A great chain; such as was used for the confinement of prisoners.

2.

And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years,

Verse 2
The dragon; described as such Revelation 12:3-9.

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.

Verse 3
Set a seal upon him; that is, upon the door of the pit; according to a custom particularly alluded to in Daniel 6:17; Matthew 27:66.

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.

Verse 4
Beheaded for the witness of Jesus; for the witness which they bore. And they lived; were restored to life. This language has been commonly understood to mean that the martyrs thus raised were to appear upon the earth again; but the place which was to be the scene of their new existence, does not seem to be indicated.

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.

Verse 6
Priests of God. The word priest is used in such a connection as this, simply to denote, in accordance with Jewish ideas, very honorable rank and station. It does not appear to be intended to convey to us any idea in respect to nature of the duties of that station.

7.

And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,

Verse 7
And when the thousand years are expired. The period of the thousand years designated in the Revelation 20:1-3, is the origin of the idea of the millennium,--an idea which, under various modifications has prevailed very extensively in the Christian church. The word millennium means simply a period of one thousand years, as the word century expresses a period of one hundred. Some have supposed that the language here used teaches the resurrection from the dead of individual martyrs of former times, and their reign upon the earth with Christ, who will then return in person to this world again; and that the time when this period shall commence, is to be pretty accurately determined by means of calculations based on the various predictions of this book. Others, on the other hand, going to the opposite extreme, suppose that only some indefinite period of ordinary prosperity is intended,--such, for example, as that which occurred in the time of Constantine, when persecutions ceased, and the civil power of the Roman empire was, for a time, the friend and protector of Christianity; and between these two extremes, there is scarcely any conceivable hypothesis which has not been framed and defended. On sober reflection, however, two points would seem to be clear, in reference to this prediction; first, that it is intended to convey to us the idea that a period of great and long-continued prosperity awaits the cause of Christ, before the great final consummation,--a period during which this world shall be the abode of piety, peace, and happiness; and, secondly, that the language in which the prediction is clothed is such as purposely to withhold from us a knowledge of the time in which God designs that it shall be fulfilled, and of the circumstances which will attend and characterize the fulfilment.

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.

Verse 8
Gog and Magog; words taken from the prophecies of the Old Testament, (Ezekiel 38:1-29:) where they are used to denote heathen and idolatrous enemies The words seem to be here employed figuratively to express ferocious hostility to the cause of God.

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.

Verse 9
And compassed the camp of the saints about; were preparing to assault and destroy the people of God.--And fire came down, &c.; that is, God interposed in a remarkable manner to save his people and to destroy their foes.

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.

Verse 10
Where the beast and the false prophet are; as stated Revelation 19:20.

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.

Verse 11
From whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; a sublime image of power and majesty.

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.

Verse 12
The books were opened; the books containing the record of their sins.

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.

Verse 13
And hell; the grave.

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.