Revelation of John 20:7 · Bible study
Revelation 20:7 Commentary: Study, Satan's Release and Final Rebellion
Greek · 8 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Explore why God releases Satan after the thousand years: an exposé of human rebellion, the final war of Gog and Magog, and the end of evil.
Research Summary
- Meaning: After the millennium, Satan is temporarily released to instigate a final rebellion that exposes unrepentant hearts before judgment.
- Key words: λυθήσεται (future passive, 'will be released', indicating divine permission); φυλακῆς ('prison', the abyss of v. 3).
- Main debate: Whether the thousand years are literal or symbolic; whether the release is past (e.g. the rise of the papacy per Gill) or future (most modern views).
- Theological theme: The persistence of human sin even under ideal conditions; the necessity of regeneration, not just external peace.
- Best use: Teaching on the certainty of final judgment, the nature of evil, and God's sovereign control over history until the end.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
When the thousand years are complete, Satan will be released from his prison,
WEB World English Bible 2000
And after the thousand years, Satan will be released from his prison
KJV King James Version 1769
And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
ASV American Standard Version 1901
And when the thousand years are finished, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
And when the thousand years may be finished, the Adversary shall be loosed out of his prison,
Darby Darby Bible 1890
And when the thousand years have been completed, Satan shall be loosed from his prison,
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
And when the thousand years shall be finished, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison and shall go forth and seduce the nations which are over the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog: and shall gather them together to battle, the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Y cuando los mil años fueren cumplidos, Satanás será suelto de su prisión,
E quando se completarem os mil anos, Satanás será solto de sua prisão.
Quand les mille ans seront accomplis, Satan sera relâché de sa prison.
Und wenn tausend Jahre vollendet sind, wird der Satanas los werden aus seinem Gefängnis
En wanneer de duizend jaren zullen geeindigd zijn, zal de satanas uit zijn gevangenis ontbonden worden.
E quando i mille anni saranno compiti, Satana sarà sciolto dalla sua prigione
A gdy się skończy tysiąc lat, będzie rozwiązany szatan z ciemnicy swojej,
Когда же окончится тысяча лет, сатана будет освобожден из темницы своей и выйдет обольщать народы, находящиеся на четырех углах земли, Гога и Магога, и собирать их на брань; число их как песок морской.
那 一千 年 完了，撒但 必從 監牢 裡被釋放，
And when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be let loose out of his prison,
Verse in Context
Original Language (Koine Greek)
New Testament · Koine Greek · Revelation of John 20:7
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree this verse describes a final release of Satan after the millennium, leading to a short but intense rebellion. Adam Clarke insists the events are symbolic, if Satan remains bound, peace continues forever, so a literal reading fails. Barnes sees the release as a temporary outbreak of wickedness, as if Satan were let loose again, with no explicit reason given beyond God's sovereign purpose. The Cambridge Bible connects the 'loosing' to the 'little season' announced in Revelation 20:3, noting the same verb (λύω) is used for freeing from prison. Gill offers a detailed historical reading, suggesting the thousand years ended with the rise of papal corruption in the 11th century, but most modern commentators treat the thousand years as a symbolic period of Christ's reign with his saints. All hold that this release serves to expose the hardened rebellion still present in human hearts before the final judgment. The Greek verb λυθήσεται (future passive indicative) indicates a certain coming action: Satan will be released, not by his own power but by divine permission.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Premillennial: A future literal thousand-year reign of Christ on earth after his second coming; Satan's release then triggers the final battle of Gog and Magog (Revelation 20:4-9; Ezekiel 38-39).
- Amillennial: The thousand years symbolize the present church age between Christ's first and second comings; Satan's binding occurred at the cross, and his release is the final apostasy before the end (Revelation 20:1-3; Matthew 12:29).
- Postmillennial: The thousand years represent a future golden age of gospel success, then a brief apostasy at Satan's release just before Christ's return (Psalm 72; Revelation 20:7-9).
- Historical Preterist (e.g., Gill): The thousand years ended around the 11th century AD with the rise of papal power; Satan's release is the medieval persecution of true believers by the Roman church (Revelation 20:7-8 interpreted as church history).
What is clear: Regardless of timing, the verse teaches that evil will stage a final rebellion, that human hearts remain inclined to sin even under perfect external conditions, and that God's judgment will decisively end all opposition.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| The millennium, thousand years | The thousand years signify a long period of Christ's reign and Satan's restraint, with peace for the church. | Premillennialists see a future literal thousand-year reign on earth; amillennialists interpret it as the church age between Christ's first and second comings; postmillennialists understand it as a golden age of gospel victory before Christ's return. All agree it ends with Satan's release. |
| Nature of Satan's binding and release | Satan is bound (restricted from deceiving nations) and later released by God's sovereign will for a short time. | Some see the binding as a past event (at Christ's first coming or Constantine's conversion); others as a future event after the Parousia. The release is either a past historical period (Gill's papal interpretation) or a still-future final apostasy. |
| Identity of Gog and Magog | They represent the final coalition of rebellious nations against God's people. | Some identify them with specific historical nations (Scythians, Russia); others as purely symbolic of all hostile powers outside the church. |
| Purpose of the release | The release demonstrates that humanity's rebellion is deep-seated, not just caused by Satan's deception. | Some emphasize God's justice (showing the condemned are guilty without excuse); others focus on demonstrating the need for regeneration. A minority see it as a test of post-millennial saints' perseverance. |
Historical & Cultural Context
This verse sits within the apocalyptic vision of John on Patmos (c. AD 95). The 'thousand years' draws on Jewish and early Christian traditions of a messianic age, a long but finite period of peace and righteousness before the end. The term 'thousand' (χίλια) is symbolic in Revelation, echoing Psalm 90:4 and 2 Peter 3:8 where a day is as a thousand years. The 'prison' (φυλακῆς) refers back to the abyss of verse 3, where Satan was bound and sealed. In ancient warfare, binding and imprisoning a defeated enemy was standard; releasing him after a fixed term signalled a truce or a test of loyalty.
The mention of 'Gog and Magog' immediately following (v. 8) draws on Ezekiel 38-39, where a coalition of nations rises against God's people. In Jewish apocalyptic literature, Gog and Magog became symbols of the final eschatological assault on the righteous. John reuses this imagery to show that even after a thousand years of Christ's reign, unrepentant humanity will rally to Satan's banner.
The 'four corners of the earth' (v. 8) is a traditional merism for the entire world, indicating global deception. The 'camp of the saints' and 'beloved city' likely refer to the people of God and the new Jerusalem, echoing Old Testament themes of the besieged city (Psalm 48; Zechariah 12:2-3). Fire from heaven (v. 9) recalls Sodom (Genesis 19:24) and Elijah's showdown on Carmel (2 Kings 1:10, 12). The pattern, release, rebellion, judgment, is consistent with earlier apocalyptic cycles in Revelation (e.g., the seals, trumpets, and bowls). John's brevity here is striking: the most dramatic rebellion is described in just two verses (7-8), showing that the outcome is never in doubt.
Textual Notes
The Greek text for Revelation 20:7 is stable across major manuscripts. The reading λυθήσεται (future passive) is undisputed; no significant variant affects meaning. The phrase 'when the thousand years are finished' appears with minor variations in word order (τελεσθῇ vs. τελεσθῶσιν) but without interpretive consequence. The consulted sources note no textual issues requiring comment.
Reception History
Revelation 20:7 has been central to millennial debates from the earliest centuries. Second-century writers like Papias and Justin Martyr read the thousand years as a literal earthly reign (chiliasm). After Augustine, the dominant Western view became amillennial: Satan's binding began with Christ's first coming, and the release occurs shortly before the final judgment, often identified with the rise of the antichrist. Medieval interpreters such as Joachim of Fiore revived millennial hopes, linking the thousand years to a coming age of the Spirit. During the Reformation, Luther and Calvin held to the Augustinian amillennial view, while some Anabaptists expected a future millennium. In the 19th century, dispensational premillennialism (popularized by John Nelson Darby and the Scofield Reference Bible) read the verse as a literal future event after Christ's return. Modern scholarship largely treats the numbers as symbolic, though the theological function of the release, to expose rebellion and lead to final judgment, remains widely accepted across traditions.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The Release That Surprises, After a thousand years of peace, Satan is freed (v. 7). Why would God allow this? Not because evil has any chance, but to reveal what still lurks in hearts that have never been regenerated, even under perfect conditions.
- The Rebellion That Exposes, Satan immediately deceives the nations (v. 8). People who lived under Christ's reign still choose to follow him. This shows sin is not just environmental, but a deep-rooted condition requiring the new birth.
- The Judgment That Ends It All, Fire from heaven devours the rebels (v. 9). God's final answer to evil is not a negotiated peace but total destruction, clearing the way for the new heavens and earth.
Five-point outline
- A Thousand Years of Righteous Rule, Christ and the saints reign; Satan is bound. The world knows peace and justice.
- A Short Season of Testing, Satan is loosed for 'a little season' (v. 3). The test reveals who truly loves God.
- Global Deception, Satan gathers 'the nations in the four corners of the earth', a final, desperate rally.
- The Siege of the Beloved City, The rebels surround God's people, but their victory is an illusion.
- Divine Fire and Final Doom, The lake of fire waits for the devil, the beast, and all who follow them (vv. 9-10).
Illustration hooks
- A prison warden announces the release of a notorious criminal. The public protests, but the warden says, 'Wait and see what happens.' The criminal's first act is to recruit a gang. The release reveals the criminal's unchanged nature, and the hearts of those who join him.
- Imagine a school where the worst bully is kept away for a year. Peace reigns. Then the bully returns. Some students immediately follow him again. The teacher uses this to show that rules change behavior only so far; the heart needs new motivation.
- A long-married couple: one spouse has been faithful for decades. But given the opportunity to betray, they choose to. The faithfulness was only maintained by lack of temptation, not by love. The test reveals what was always there.
Questions your congregation is asking
- If Satan is bound for a thousand years, why is there still sin in the world now?
- Will I have to face that final temptation after the millennium? Is it possible to fall away?
- Does this mean God gives people a second chance to repent, or does the rebellion show that no one who hasn't been born again will ever choose God?
Leading a Discussion
This short verse carries huge weight in the flow of Revelation. After the idyllic thousand-year reign, Satan's release is not a mistake or a loophole, it is a final, controlled test that exposes the truth about human nature and the certainty of judgment. Use these questions to help your group dig into the text together.
Discussion questions
- Observation: What does verse 7 say will happen 'after the thousand years'? How does this connect to verse 3 (Satan bound 'till the thousand years were finished')?
- Interpretation: Why do you think God permits Satan to be released after such a long period of peace? What does this tell us about the nature of the millennium, is it the final state or a penultimate era?
- Interpretation: The Greek verb λυθήσεται ('will be released') is future passive. Who is the implied agent? What does this suggest about who controls spiritual history?
- Application: If people living under Christ's direct reign still follow Satan, what does that imply about the power of external circumstances to change the human heart?
- Application: How should the certainty of this final rebellion shape our urgency in evangelism and discipleship today?
- Wider context: Read Ezekiel 38-39. How does John adapt that prophecy for this scene? What does 'Gog and Magog' symbolize here?
- Hope: Despite the rebellion, the outcome is swift and final, fire from heaven (v. 9). How does this give you confidence in God's ultimate victory over evil?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Revelation of John 20:2 | He seized the dragon, the old serpent, who is the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole inhabited earth, and bound him for a thousand years, |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
8 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke argues that the entire scenario of Satan being bound, then loosed, followed by peace giving way to war cannot be taken literally. He insists these events are purely symbolic representations, utterly incapable of the plain historical sense often imposed on them. The thousand-year peace could last forever if Satan's imprisonment continued, making the later loosing a figurative device.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes reads the release of Satan not as a literal event but as a description of a temporary outbreak of wickedness in certain parts of the world. He insists this is no arbitrary act of God; it is simply that the restraint is lifted, and evil surges again for a time.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The Cambridge Bible School notes that the Greek phrase rendered “little season” here is distinct from the “short time” in Revelation 12:12. There is no reason to equate these two periods, though the passages do shed light on one another to some degree.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes mark a clear distinction between two resurrections: the martyrs who reign with Christ rise first, while the rest of the dead stay lifeless until the thousand years end. For these commentators, this first resurrection is a literal raising of the body, not a symbolic one.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill insists the thousand-year binding of Satan has not yet occurred, so its expiration is still future. He rejects every attempt to date it to past centuries because none shows a clear contrast between a bound period and a brief release. For him, the binding remains an unfulfilled event that will end with Satan's literal release from the pit.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange describes the final assault on God's people as a convulsive eruption of pure brutality and instinct, not a rational war. The rudest remnants of humanity, especially from the remote heathen Orient, band together under Satan's instigation, forming a coalition of demonic and bestial forces. Those who share in the first resurrection are beyond the second death's power, secure as priests and co-regents with Christ.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry sees the binding of Satan as a period when his power is drastically limited, giving the church an extended season of peace. During these thousand years, the souls of martyred believers reign with Christ as priests, untouched by the second death. After this, Satan must be briefly released before his final destruction.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley points out that Satan's release from prison happens at the same time the first resurrection begins. He sees a resemblance to Revelation 12:12: just as the dragon's casting out brought joy in heaven but woe on earth, so Satan's release brings the saints' reign but deception for the nations.