1 Then I saw an angel coming down from the sky. In his hand he had the key to the big hole that has no bottom, and a big chain.

2 He caught the dragon, that old snake who is called the devil and Satan. The angel tied him for a thousand years.

3 Then the angel threw him into the big hole that has no bottom. He shut it and locked him in. He did this so that the devil would not fool the nations again until the end of the thousand years. After that, the devil will be let free for a short time.

4 Then I saw thrones. Those who sat on them were given the right to judge. And I saw the souls of those who had their heads cut off because they told about Jesus and Gods word. They had not worshipped the beast or its idol. And they had not taken its mark on their foreheads or on their hands. They became alive again and ruled with Christ for a thousand years.

5 The other dead people did not live again until the end of the thousand years. This is the first rising from death.

6 God has blessed those who rise this first time, and they are holy. They will not die the second kind of death. But they will be priests of God and of Christ. They will rule with him for the thousand years.

7 When the end of the thousand years comes, Satan will be set free from his prison.

8 He will go out to fool the nations all over the world. He will fool Gog and Magog. He will gather them to fight. They are many, as many as the sand on the seashore.

9 They marched far over the earth. They went all around the camp of Gods people and the city his people loved. Then fire came down from the sky and burned them.

10 The devil who fooled them was thrown into the big fire which burns with dust that chokes people. The animal, and the prophet who is not true, were already in the fire. They will have a very hard time day and night, for ever and ever.

11 Then I saw a big white throne and the person sitting on it. The earth and sky went away from him. They were not there any more.

12 I saw the dead people, those who were great and those not great. They were standing in front of Gods throne. Some books were opened. And another book was opened which is the book of life. The dead people were judged by the things they had done, which were written in the books.

13 The dead people in the sea came out. People came out of death and the world of the dead. One by one, each one was judged by the things he had done.

14 Then death and the world of the dead were thrown into the big fire. This fire is the second death.

15 Every person whose name was not written in the book of life was thrown into this big fire.