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Revelation

About this book
Chapter 20

1 Then I saw an angel descending from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the abyss and a huge chain.⁠ 2 He seized the dragon—the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan—and tied him up for a thousand years.⁠ 3 The angel then threw him into the abyss and locked and sealed it so that he could not deceive the nations until the one thousand years were finished. (After these things he must be released for a brief period of time.)⁠ 4 Then I saw thrones and seated on them were those who had been given authority to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. These had not worshiped the beast or his image and had refused to receive his mark on their forehead or hand. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.⁠ 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were finished.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who takes part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. 7 Now when the thousand years are finished, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to bring them together for the battle. They are as numerous as the grains of sand in the sea. 9 They went up on the broad plain of the earth and encircled the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and devoured them completely.⁠ 10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are too, and they will be tormented there day and night forever and ever. 11 Then I saw a large white throne and the one who was seated on it; the earth and the heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them.⁠ 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. Then books were opened,⁠ and another book was opened—the book of life.⁠ So the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds.⁠ 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each one was judged according to his deeds.⁠ 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire.⁠ 15 If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, that person was thrown into the lake of fire.

Texts in conversation

Compare 2 Kings 1:12 and Revelation 20:9

Hebrew Bible · New Testament

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Summary

Revelation’s description of fire descending from heaven mirrors the story of Elijah calling down fire against Ahaziah’s soldiers in 2 Kings. Both depict divine fire as a means of judgment and protection, with Revelation reshaping it into final judgment.

Passages

2 Kings 1:12

Hebrew Bible
9 The king sent a captain and his 50 soldiers to retrieve Elijah. The captain went up to him while he was sitting on the top of a hill. He told him, “Prophet, the king says, ‘Come down!’” 10 Elijah replied to the captain, “If I am indeed a prophet, may fire come down from the sky and consume you and your 50 soldiers!” Fire then came down from the sky and consumed him and his 50 soldiers. 11 The king sent another captain and his 50 soldiers to retrieve Elijah. He went up and told him, “Prophet, this is what the king says, ‘Come down at once!’” 12 Elijah replied to them, “If I am indeed a prophet, may fire come down from the sky and consume you and your 50 soldiers!” Fire from God came down from the sky and consumed him and his 50 soldiers. 13 The king sent a third captain and his 50 soldiers. This third captain went up and fell on his knees before Elijah. He begged for mercy, “Prophet, please have respect for my life and for the lives of these 50 servants of yours. 14 Indeed, fire came down from the sky and consumed the two captains who came before me, along with their men. So now, please have respect for my life.”
600–501 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in 2 Kings

Revelation 20:9

New Testament
7 Now when the thousand years are finished, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to bring them together for the battle. They are as numerous as the grains of sand in the sea. 9 They went up on the broad plain of the earth and encircled the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and devoured them completely. 10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are too, and they will be tormented there day and night forever and ever.
92–96 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Revelation

References

"... Next in John’s prophetic vision he sees that the enemy nations “surrounded the camp of the saints and the holy city.” In the Old Testament the “camp” referred often to the wilderness encampment of Israelite tribes around the tabernacle. Those remaining in the camp had to be ritually clean because of God’s presence residing in its midst (e.g., Numbers 9:18–23; 2 Chronicles 31:2). Most comparable among Old Testament texts is Deuteronomy 23:14: “Because the Lord your God walks in the midst of your camp to deliver you and to defeat your enemies before you, therefore your camp must be holy” (compare 1QM III, 5–9; 1QM X). The attacking nations will be destroyed by God before they can annihilate the saints: “fire descended from heaven and consumed them.” This follows the pattern of Ezekiel’s prophecy where the demise of Israel’s enemy is by fire, which is also reflected upon in Judaism (see Targum Pseudo-Jonathan Numbers 11:26, where the destruction of Magog by fire is noted, also in allusion to Ezekiel 39; similarly, in 1QM XI, 16–17 God “will battle against them. The actual wording of the fiery defeat is drawn from 2 Kings 1:10–14, which describes God’s deliverance of Elijah from the armies of the ungodly king Ahaziah ..."
G. K. Beale and D. A. Carson, Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2007), 2582.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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2 Kings 1:12 and Revelation 20:9

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