Revelation Chapter 20
IN THIS LESSON
After a thousand years, Satan is released—again. He gathers his allies, this time calling on Gog and Magog, mysterious figures believed to come from the northeast of Israel. But to our surprise—or perhaps disappointment—the final battle is shockingly short. Fire comes down from heaven, and Satan is thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur. Then comes the judgment. The dead are raised and judged according to their deeds (vv. 12–13). Wait—aren’t we supposed to be judged based on our faith in Jesus? How do we reconcile this with the well-known doctrine of justification by faith? And what does it mean when it says even Death and Hades are judged (v. 14)? What is really happening here?
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N.T. Wright, Revelation For Everyone (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2011), 181-186.