Revelation 20:1-6
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, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; 3 and he cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal on him, so that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years were finished. But after these things he must be released for a little while.
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his 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 finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he who has part 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.
4 And I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was committed to them. Then I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for their witness to Jesus and for the word of God, who had not worshiped the beast or his image, and had not received his 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 finished. This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is he who has part 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.
After the beast and its false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire, an angel of God will use the key to the bottomless pit to open it, chain the serpent dragon Devil Satan, bind and throw him in there for a thousand years. The serpent who deceived Eve and led many away from God and Christ by his lies and rebellion has no power to stop God’s judgement nor his demise. He is only bound temporarily this first time, but will ultimately be put away forever according to God’s plan. We do not know the precise details, and it is not profitable to speculate beyond what we can see as written here, but the important thing to grasp is that God is sovereign, the Devil is limited and doomed, and the saints of God in Christ who suffer and die for His sake will rule with Christ and live for that thousand year time in the first resurrection. They cannot ever die again. They are to be God’s priests to serve and minister to the Father and Christ the Son. That is their reward for His name’s sake, suffering through tribulation and trials for His glory! Likewise, those raised at the end in Christ also find the reasonable service of worship forevermore before the throne of God (Romans 12:1, Revelation 21:3, 7).
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