Revelation 20
The Thousand Years
The time of the beginning of the thousand years is discussed below.
An angel with the key Fire came down
Qualified to destroy Satan Tormented day and night
That old serpent Satan joins his friends
Captured, bound, cast down, shut up, sealed ! The great white throne
Bottomless pit The books were opened
Reigning with Christ — clarification of the text Up from the sea and into the fire
Different roles for beheaded and resurrected The millennial judgment elsewhere in the Bible
Pattern of deaths and resurrections Seven scenes surruonding the thousand years
Have we already seen the kings and priests? Fates of two goats
Satan released to gather the nations Time sequence of millennium events (table)
 9a
The camp of the saints Chapter overview
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Chart of 13 time lines in Revelation
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Sequence
The natural reading of the text shows this chapter to follow Chapter 19 in time. For internal evidence that this is so, notice that the beast and the false prophet were captured at 1920 in defeat as they made war against the One on the white horse. The dragon, the third of the three enemies of God (of 1613ff), is bound at the beginning of Chapter 20. Realizing that the original text did not have chapter breaks, we see that 19:20 to 20:2 is a block of text that shows how God handles all three enemies. Then at 20:10 the beast and the false prophet are seen still in the lake of fire as the dragon (or devil) is cast in with them.
How God brings an end to evil
People often ask why God allows the devil to promote the evil that has caused so much suffering in this old world.  Here in Chapter 20 we see a good part of the answer.  Satan had claimed his way was better than God's is1412; ge0301.  Step-by-step, as he demonstrates his real character before the universe and the questions about God's fairness are removed, his authority is withdrawn.  At the end of this chapter he meets his end.
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Chart of chapter 20 time lines
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