Revelation 20:9; And Fire Came Down From God Out of Heaven

Posted on Posted in Devotions Tagged with , ,

Revelation 20:9 (KJV)  And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. 

Fire from heaven as an instrument of divine punishment is well-known (Genesis 19:24; Leviticus 10:2; Ezekiel 38:22; 39:6; 2 Kings 1:10, 12; Luke 9:54).

Genesis 19:24 (KJV)  Then the LORD rained upon Sodom and upon Gomorrah brimstone and fire from the LORD out of heaven; 

Leviticus 10:2 (KJV)  And there went out fire from the LORD, and devoured them, and they died before the LORD. 

Ezekiel 38:22 (KJV)  And I will plead against him with pestilence and with blood; and I will rain upon him, and upon his bands, and upon the many people that are with him, an overflowing rain, and great hailstones, fire, and brimstone. 

Ezekiel 39:6 (KJV)  And I will send a fire on Magog, and among them that dwell carelessly in the isles: and they shall know that I am the LORD. 

2 Kings 1:10 (KJV)  And Elijah answered and said to the captain of fifty, If I be a man of God, then let fire come down from heaven, and consume thee and thy fifty. And there came down fire from heaven, and consumed him and his fifty. 

Luke 9:54 (KJV)  And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? 

It is a fitting climax to the last battle with Satan and his armies. The brief “devoured them” summarises the fate of the rebels. V10 will tell us of the eternal destiny of their leader, but the destiny of the multitudes who joined Satan remains unstated until later in the chapter v12-15.

Revelation 20:10 (KJV)  And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever. 

Revelation 20:12-15 (KJV)  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. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. 

[Robert L. Thomas, Revelation 8-22 – An Exegetical Commentary, Moody, 1995, 425-426]