840. REVELATION: CHAPTER 20
1. Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
2. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, which is the Devil and Satan, and bound it for a thousand years;
3. and he cast it into the bottomless pit, and shut it up, and set a seal on it, so that it should not lead the nations astray any more till the thousand years were completed. But after that it must be released for a little while.
4. And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was entrusted to them. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the Word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or its image, and had not received its mark on their foreheads or on their hands. And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.
5. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection.
6. Blessed and holy is he who shares in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
7. Then, when the thousand years have been completed, Satan will be released from his prison,
8. and he will go out to lead astray the nations which are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea.
9. And they went up over the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them.
10. Then the devil who led them astray was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
11. Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away. And there was not found any place for them.
12. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and their books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, in accordance with the things which were written in their books.
13. Then the sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hell delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works.
14. Then Death and Hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
THE SPIRITUAL MEANING
The Contents of the Whole Chapter
The removal of those people meant by the dragon (verses 1-3), and the ascent then of those in the lower earth, 1
who worshiped the Lord and refrained from evils as being sins (verses 4-6). The judgment on those having no religion in their worship (verses 7-9). The damnation of the dragon (verse 10). The universal judgment on all the rest (verses 11-15).
The Contents of the Individual Verses:
| Verse Contents | Spiritual Meaning |
|---|
| 1. Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. | The Lord's Divine operation into the lower regions by virtue of His Divine power to close and open and to bind and loose. |
| 2. He laid hold of the dragon, that serpent of old, which is the Devil and Satan, | Those meant by the dragon were detained, who because they think about matters of faith sensually and not spiritually, are called that serpent of old, who because they are caught up in evils in the way they live, are called the Devil, and who because they are caught up in falsities as regards their doctrine, are called Satan. |
| and bound it for a thousand years; | Those meant by the dragon here were forcibly drawn away and separated from the rest of the people in the world of spirits to keep them from having any communication with the rest for a while or a period of time. |
| 3. and he cast it into the bottomless pit, and shut it up, and set a seal on it, so that it should not lead the nations astray any more | The Lord removed entirely those who were caught up in faith alone and took away all their communication with the rest, to keep them from inspiring any of their heresy in people who were being raised into heaven. |
| till the thousand years were completed. But after that it must be released for a little while. | This was the case for a while or for a period of time until people with truths springing from goodness were raised by the Lord into heaven, after which those meant by the dragon would for a short time be set loose and have a communication opened with those who were left. |
| 4. And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was entrusted to them. | The Word's truths were laid open, in accordance with which all people are judged, and those in the lower earth were then raised up, who had been hidden away by the Lord to keep the dragon and its beasts from leading them astray; |
| I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the Word of God, | who had been rejected by those caught up in falsities hatched out of their own intelligence, because they worshiped the Lord and lived in accordance with the truths in His Word, |
| who had not worshiped the beast or its image, and had not received its mark on their foreheads or on their hands. | and did not acknowledge or accept the doctrine of faith alone; |
| And they lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. | who possessed a conjunction with the Lord already and had been in His kingdom for some time. |
| 5. But the rest of the dead did not live again until the thousand years were completed. | Besides these just described, no others were raised into heaven until after the dragon was set loose and they were then tried and examined to discover their character. |
| This is the first resurrection. | Salvation and eternal life consist primarily in worshiping the Lord and living according to His commandments in the Word, because these are the means to conjunction with the Lord and affiliation with angels in heaven. |
| 6. Blessed and holy is he who shares in the first resurrection. | Through conjunction with the Lord those who enter heaven enjoy the felicity of eternal life and enlightenment. |
| Over such the second death has no power, | They do not suffer damnation, |
| but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, | because they are kept by the Lord in the goodness of love and so in truths of wisdom. |
| and shall reign with Him a thousand years. | They were already in heaven when the rest who did not live again, that is, who did not accept the life of heaven, were still in the world of spirits. |
| 7. Then, when the thousand years have been completed, Satan will be released from his prison, | After the Lord raised into heaven those who previously had been hidden away and protected in the lower earth, and the New Christian Heaven was increased by their number, all those who had confirmed themselves in falsities of faith were let loose. |
| 8. and he will go out to lead astray the nations which are at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for battle, | Those meant by the dragon here drew to their side from any land throughout the world of spirits all who lived the life of an external, natural worship only and no internal, spiritual worship, and roused them up against those who worshiped the Lord and lived according to His commandments in the Word. |
| whose number is as the sand of the sea. | The multitude of such people. |
| 9. And they went up over the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. | Being roused up by followers of the dragon, they scorned every truth in the church and attempted to destroy everything connected with the New Church and its fundamental doctrine regarding the Lord and life. |
| And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. | They were destroyed by the lusts of their hellish love. |
| 10. Then the devil who led them astray was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever. | People who were caught up in evils in the way they lived and in falsities as regards their doctrine were cast into hell. |
| 11. Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away. And there was not found any place for them. | A universal judgment executed by the Lord on all the former heavens that were occupied by people possessing a civil and moral goodness, but no spiritual goodness, thus who gave the appearance of being Christians outwardly, but who inwardly were devils. These heavens with their lands were totally dispersed so that no part of them was seen anymore. |
| 12. And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, | All people of every condition and character, who had died from earthly lands and were now among those in the world of spirits, gathered by the Lord for judgment. |
| and their books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. | The interiors of their minds were opened, of both the good and the evil, and by an influx of light and warmth from heaven their characters were seen and perceived in respect to the affections of their love or will, and so in respect to the thoughts of their faith or intellect. |
| And the dead were judged according to their works, in accordance with the things which were written in their books. | All were judged in accordance with the inner life within their outward appearances. |
| 13. Then the sea gave up the dead who were in it, | External and natural people in the church called together for judgment. |
| and Death and Hell delivered up the dead who were in them. | The impious at heart in the church, who in themselves were devils and satanic spirits, called together for judgment. |
| And they were judged, each one according to his works. | The same as before. |
| 14. Then Death and Hell were cast into the lake of fire. | The impious at heart, who in themselves were devils and satanic spirits, and yet in outward appearances seemed to be people of the church, were cast down into hell among spirits who were caught up in a love of evil and so in a love of falsity according with evil. |
| This is the second death. | This is their final damnation. |
| 15. And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. | Those who had not lived in accordance with the Lord's commandments in the Word and did not believe in the Lord were condemned. |
THE EXPOSITION
20:1 Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, having the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. This symbolizes the Lord's operation into the lower regions by virtue of His Divine power to close and open and to bind and loose.
An angel coming down from heaven means the Lord, as may be seen in nos. 5, 258, 344, 465, 657, 718, and also the Lord's operation, nos. 415, 631, 633, 649, here His operation into the lower regions, because the angel is described as coming down. Having the key to the bottomless pit symbolizes the Divine power to open and close hell, as may be seen in nos. 62, 174. And having a great chain in his hand symbolizes the endeavor and so the action of binding and loosing.
It follows, therefore, that there was no key or chain in the Lord's hand, but that its appearing so to John was representative of the Lord's Divine power. This chapter also refers two or three times to the opening and closing of hell.
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