Revelation 20:7-10 (KJV)
[SUP]7 [/SUP]And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
[SUP]8 [/SUP]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.
[SUP]9 [/SUP]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.
[SUP]10 [/SUP]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.
I'm rather lost as to how you came up with that.
Well, let's understand the passage...
First of all, what is the time frame?
Rev 20:1 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand.
Rev 20:2 And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him
a thousand years,
Rev 20:3 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.
Rev 20:4 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.
The time frame is the Millennium. Christ has returned, established the Kingdom of God and the resurrected saints are ruling with Him for 1000 years here on earth (Rev 5:10).
Rev 20:5 But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
So, there is some group of people that are called "the rest of the dead" and they are not resurrected until AFTER the Millennium but those resurrected at the beginning of the Millennium are in the FIRST resurrection.
Rev 20:6 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.
Rev 5:10 And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.
So, resurrected saints have reigned with Christ 1000 years in a utopia on earth with no Satan to corrupt the beauty and perfection. Now we come to the end of the Millennium...
Rev 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
Rev 20:8 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.
Rev 20:9 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.
So, Satan is released and immediately he goes about doing what he does best, stirring up hate and discontent. Those humans that Satan has influenced rebel and come down to Jerusalem to attack it. God sends fire from heaven and they are destroyed.
Rev 20:10 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.
Now that we have a timeline and see that this is at the end of the Millennium, let's see what this verse really says...
Satan the Devil is cast into the Lake of Fire. Notice that the verb "are" is in italics? You know that means it was not in the original manuscripts. Secondly, the phrase "where the beast and the false prophet
are" is a parenthetical thought. The rules of English tell us that we can remove a parenthetical thought without changing the meaning or sense of the complete sentence, so...
Rev 20:10 And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
The Devil is cast into the Lake of Fire and tormented day and night forever. Now what about the phrase "where the beast and the false prophet
are"?
Bullinger has this...
"where also the beast and the false prophet were cast"
The Diaglott simply has...
"where both the wild-beast and the false-prophets"
Let's see if everyone is in this Lake burning and screaming and writhing in pain...
Rev 19:19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
Rev 19:20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
Rev 19:21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
This passage is at the return of Christ just as the Millennium is about to begin. In other words, 1000 year BEFORE Rev 20:10. Notice that the Beast and False Prophet are cast into the Lake of Fire? What about everyone else? Their carcasses are left in the open and scavenger birds pick them clean but they are not cast into the Lake of Fire.
So what of the Beast and False Prophet? Are they suffering eternal torment? The NIV is very good here…
And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, [
where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever.
The English Standard Version has this…
and the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur where the beast and the false prophet were, and they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
The International Standard Version…
and the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet were. They will be tortured day and night forever and ever.
The Beast and False Prophet are cast into the Lake of Fire at the return of Christ, just as the Millennium begins and are burned to ashes…
Mal 4:1 For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
Mal 4:2 But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
Mal 4:3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.
Now, back to Rev 20…
Rev 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.
Rev 20:12 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.
Note here that at the time the Devil is cast into the Lake of Fire, the Great White Throne Judgment has NOT YET OCCURRED!
All the rest of the incorrigibly wicked have not yet been judged! So there is no way to say that verse 10 shows them to be suffering in hell, they have not even been judged yet.
And what is the fate of the wicked?
Mat 10:28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
The wicked are burned to ashes and live no more…
Mal 4:3 And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.