20:1 angel. The angel may well be the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, since it is He who has the key to the bottomless pit (Revelation 1:18), and it would be most appropriate for the Son, on behalf of the Father, to personally dispatch the great rebel to his prison.

20:1 bottomless pit. On the bottomless pit (Greek abusos) see note on Revelation 9:1. The demons had dreaded the prospect of being sent by Christ to “the deep” (same Greek word, Luke 8:31), but the “time” for their “torment” (Matthew 8:29) will finally have come, as they will be corralled with their evil prince into the deep dungeon.

20:1 great chain. The “great chain,” with which to “bind the strong man” (Mark 3:27) is no doubt a spiritual chain to restrain the spirit being called Satan, but it will serve the purpose, whatever it is.

20:2 And. Note that almost every verse in this chapter begins with “and” (Greek kai). The events reported in succession, one after another, are undoubtedly real events that will happen just as John reported them.

20:2 Satan. Note the same series of identifying names in Revelation 12:9.

20:2 thousand years. The “thousand years” or millennium (Greek chiliai) should be taken literally. It is mentioned six times in Revelation 20:2-7, as though the Lord would make it emphatically clear that Satan will be restrained for literally a thousand years. He is certainly not “bound” in this present age, for he still “walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” (I Peter 5:8).

20:3 no more. With Satan bound in the bottomless pit, the beast and the false prophet in the lake of fire, and all the ungodly men and women purged from the earth either at Armageddon or at the judgment of the nations (see notes on Matthew 25:31-46), there will be only a “few men left” (Isaiah 24:6) still in their natural flesh, to enter Christ’s millennial kingdom (Matthew 25:34). Redeemed Israel, having been saved both individually and nationally when she sees and accepts her Messiah (Zechariah 12:9–13:1; Romans 11:25-26) will become the world’s chief nation. All the ancient prophecies and promises concerning Israel will finally be fulfilled (e.g., Isaiah 2:2-4; Ezekiel 37:21-28; Zechariah 9:10; 14:9).

20:4 given unto them. Peace and righteousness will finally reign on the earth, under the iron rule of Christ and His resurrected saints (Revelation 2:26-27; 19:15; I Corinthians 6:2-3), and it will endure a thousand years. Furthermore, the catastrophic changes on the earth’s surface during the tribulation judgments will have restored the gentle topography and protecting vapor canopy over the earth (Isaiah 40:4; Psalm 148:4-6; etc.), so that the primeval “very good” condition of the whole world (Genesis 1:31) will be restored in large measure. Harmony also will be restored between men and animals, and people will again have only one language and will live to great ages (Isaiah 11:6-9; Zephaniah 3:9; Isaiah 65:20).

20:4 beheaded. Evidently, those who refuse the beast’s mark will be executed by the guillotine.

20:4 lived. The “souls” of the martyrs of the tribulation will have been resting “under” the heavenly altar (Revelation 6:9-11) until the seven years of tribulation are done, but then will apparently be resurrected to join all the other raptured and resurrected saints of all the ages.

20:4 reigned. The saints will all be “kings and priests” (note Revelation 20:6) under their Lord, Jesus Christ, with various degrees of authority as based on faithfulness of service while in this present life (note Revelation 1:6; 5:10; Matthew 19:28; Luke 19:17, 19).

20:5 lived not again. This phrase clearly indicates bodily resurrection after bodily death. The unsaved dead obviously will not live again spiritually, for they are in hades and will ultimately be in the lake of fire. In fact, the term “resurrection” itself occurs over forty times in the New Testament, and always refers to the resurrection of the body.

20:5 finished. Jesus had referred to “the resurrection of life” and “the resurrection of damnation” (John 5:28-29), and so had Daniel (Daniel 12:2) but here it is revealed for the first time that the first resurrection will be completed a thousand years before the second. The word “is” does not appear in the Greek. The sense probably is that “this completes the first resurrection (note I Corinthians 15:22,23; Matthew 27:52-53; Revelation 11:11).

20:6 second death. The second death must be a bodily death, imposed after the second resurrection on all those who still are spiritually dead in their sins and trespasses (note Ephesians 2:1; Revelation 20:13-14).

20:6 priests of God. The resurrected saints will be both kings and priests (Revelation 1:6), exercising both judicial rule (I Corinthians 6:2) and religious ministries in relation to the growing human populations on earth. They may be ministering to those who had died or been raptured while still “babes in Christ,” either infants physically or spiritually. These somehow must be brought to full maturity in Christ, both physically and spiritually, and the already-matured saints could conceivably be participants in their further growth.