And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire

This chapter tells of the imprisonment of the Enemy for 1000 years in the bottomless pit. If this chapter is to be taken chronologically from the last chapter, then the imprisonment of the Enemy follows the defeat of the Anti-Christ. However, it is God's plan that after 1000 years the Enemy would be released.

Then the chapter describes the saints that would reign with Christ for a thousand years. Contrary to popular interpretation, the chapter seems to suggest that these saints are only the one who did not follow the Beast and who were destroyed because the chose Messiah over the Beast. So does that mean that other followers of Y'shua Ha Massiach who lived and died before the period of the Anti-Christ, will not then take part in this thousand year reign?

The next description is more interesting. At the end of the thousand years, the Enemy is released to lead another rebellion on Earth. So this suggests that during the one thousand years, the saints of the First Resurrection lived on Earth and reign with Christ. Then during the final rebellion by the Enemy, there are still people or beings opposed to God who live on Earth, whom the Enemy will gather for the final battle.

Another interesting point is that the Enemy is defeated in this Final Battle and thrown into the Lake of Fire and Brimstone where the Beast and False Prophet had been for the last thousand years. So it seemed that the Enemy was first thrown into a different place, which is the Bottomless Pit, for the first thousand years and that this is a different place to the Lake of Fire where the Beast and False Prophet were kept.

The chapter ends in the Final Judgement which is so terrible that heaven and earth flee in the face of God. It mentioned that this is the time that the dead will be judged. The question is whether these dead include the believers of Y'shua who have died. Where is the argument that says that these dead are all non-believers?

For these resurrected dead, they will be judged according to their works which are written in multiple books, not just one book. In addition, the judgment will also consider the Book of Life. It is still possible to interpret that the dead believers of Y'shua, who will be found in the Book of Life, will not be judged by their sins at this stage. The last sentence also supports this saying "And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire." This agrees with the fact that all humans sinned and fall short of God's glory and the wages of sin is death, hence everyone will be cast into the Lake of Fire no matter what their works were. The only exception is having their names in the Book of Life, which can only happen for those who follow Y'shua Ha Masiach.






Revelation 20
Satan Bound 1,000 Years

20 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.

The Saints Reign with Christ 1,000 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[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.

Satanic Rebellion Crushed

7 Now when the thousand years have expired, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle, whose number is as the sand of the sea. 9 They went up on the breadth of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. And fire came down from God out of heaven and devoured them. 10 The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where[b] the beast and the false prophet are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.

The Great White Throne Judgment

11 Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God,[c] and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead who were in it, and Death and Hades delivered up the dead who were in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.[d] 15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.

The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues

Revelation 17:7-18

There are things the Scripture describes using allegory / symbolic and there are things which are literal. For the most cases when it is not literal, as in this chapter, the Scripture itself will provide the explanation. Hence in other parts of Scripture which does not give specific explanations, they are generally meant to be taken as literal.

In this chapter, the Woman and the Beast are symbolic and are explained by the angel. The beast is said to be "Was, is not, and yet is". The angel does not explain more than that. People have usually taken this to mean that the Beast represents the Anti-Christ and that he will be mortally wounded and appeared to have died. And then the Beast would come back to life again, causing people to think that he was resurrected.

There's another phrase about they "whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world". This might mean the non-believers, those who choose not to follow Y'shua Jesus. The interesting part about this is that they may have been pre-determined not to be in the book of life from the beginning.

More details are revealed that the seven heads of the beast are actually seven mountains. They may correspond to seven kingdoms with seven kings. At that time, five kings have already been known and fallen, one king is there at that time, and there will be one more to come. The seventh kings will reign a short time and will give rise to the resurrected beast who will be the eighth king.

The ten horns are another set of ten kings with no kingdoms, but will be given to reign a short time with the beast at the End Times. The fact that the have no kingdoms, has led to some interpretation that they are spiritual beings, followers of the Enemy, rather than earthly kings. They will worship and support the beast and will be ultimately defeated by the Lamb.

Finally the woman is revealed as the great city which "reigns over the kings of the earth". This may be a capital of a united world of kingdoms. The water which the woman sits on is also revealed as peoples and  nations. So it seems to be an oppressive worldwide government. However, this worldwide regime will be opposed by the ten kings who worship the Beast. So although it seems like the evil forces are fighting with another evil force, the result is that the people of the nations who will endure great suffering in those battles.