1I saw an angel coming down out of heaven, having the key of the abyss and a great chain in his hand. 2He 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, 3and cast him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, that he should deceive the nations no more until the thousand years were finished. After this, he must be freed for a short time.
4I saw thrones, and they sat on them, and judgment was given to them. I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God, and such as didn’t worship the beast nor his image, and didn’t receive the mark on their forehead and on their hand. They lived and reigned with Christ for a thousand years. 5The rest of the dead didn’t live until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. 6Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over these, the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with him one thousand years.
7And after the thousand years, Satan will be released from his prison 8and he will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to the war, whose number is as the sand of the sea. 9They went up over the width of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. Fire came down out of heaven from God and devoured them. 10The devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are also. They will be tormented day and night forever and ever.
11I saw a great white throne and him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. There was found no place for them. 12I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and they opened books. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13The sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them. They were judged, each one according to his works. 14Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. 15If anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire.
Word Study: Seal (Gk. σφραγίζω, sphagidzo). (John 3:33; Rom 15:28; 2 Cor 1:22; Eph 1:13; 4:30; Rev 10:4, 3; 20:3, 2) Strong’s 4972
This word can refer to 1) a seal as a security measure —Rev 20:3, 2) a seal to close something tight—Rev 10:4, 3) a seal for purposes of identification—Eph 1:13; 2 Cor 1:22, 4) a seal to certify that something is so—John 3:33, 5) a seal for delivery—Rom 15:28. In this verse, the seal of the Holy Spirit and His indwelling presence seems to have a multifaceted effect. First and foremost, it identifies the believer as belonging to God, but as such, it does provide security, it does certify the reality of salvation and relationship with God and it does look forward to the delivery of the saint into the heavenly presence of God. The Holy Spirit’s seal is the ground of the believer’s spiritual security and the foundation of the believer’s assurance of salvation. Within its range of meaning, a word normally has a one meaning in a particular context, and that context plays an important role in determining what meaning is intended. However, in this passage, the context and this word’s possible meanings indicate that the apostle probably used the word precisely for the many layers of meaning it could bring, not an unusual literary device.