भाष्य सध्या फक्त इंग्रजीत उपलब्ध आहे. मराठी भाषांतर प्रगतीपथावर आहे.
Revelation 20 — And the Books Were Opened
An angel comes down with a great chain; binds the dragon a thousand years. Thrones; those who had not worshipped the beast reign with Christ. When the thousand years are finished Satan is loosed; deceives the nations; encompasses the camp of the saints; fire from God devours them. The devil cast into the lake of fire with the beast and false prophet. A great white throne; the earth and heaven flee. The dead, small and great, stand before God. The books are opened, and another book — the book of life. Death and hell cast into the lake of fire. Whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
“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.”
— Revelation 20:12
- v.1-6 The thousand years
- v.7-10 Satan's final defeat
- v.11-15 The great white throne
The final defeat of Satan. Bound, loosed, deceiving, gathered against the camp of the saints — and ended by fire from heaven. The chapter's deepest comfort: he will not always be active.
For ever and ever. The duration is not symbolic of an interval. The eternal punishment of the unrepentant accomplices is the answer to the eternal worship of the redeemed.
Small and great. Death equalizes; the throne sorts. No one's status on earth determines the verdict here. The records are clear; the judgment is exact.
Another book... the book of life. The decisive register. The works-books testify to lives lived; the book of life records belonging to Christ. To be present in the second is to be received; to be absent is to be cast (v.15).
The sobering closing line. The criterion for life is the book's registration. Make sure your name is there now, before the day when the book is opened publicly.
Acceptance of Christ writes a name into the book; rejection leaves it unwritten. The verse is the universe's ultimate decision-point in one sentence.
Verse 15 is the one line every reader must settle. Is your name in the book? Not whether you have been religious, kind, or moral — written. The chapter implies the answer: those who trust Christ are written in; those who refuse Him are not. There is no third book. Settle it.
The Great White Throne is Christ's — the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son (John 5:22). The same Lamb who was slain is the Judge of the dead. The book of life is the Lamb's (Revelation 21:27). The chapter's deepest mercy is that the Judge is the One who died to put your name in His book.
Reigned with Christ. The promise to overcomers (Revelation 2:26; 3:21) is fulfilled. The martyrs whose blood drenched Babylon now share the throne.
A reversal of fortunes. Those who lost the world's contest are seated as judges. The world's ledger is rewritten.